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iSlSfes! 


The Stagecoach 







THE PIONEER’S HOARD 


A THRILLING 

ROMANCE OF THE OZARKS. 


/ 

SCOTT VAN GORDEN. 


— •J* >C| handsomely illustr ated |^»*I* — 



Chicago : 

Rhodes & McClure Publishing Company. 
1902. 


THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

One Copy Receiveo 

iAN. I 1903 


ftCoPVW«HT ENTir/ 

CIaSS ^ XXa No. 

S 0 ^ f o 


COPY B. 


Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1903, 
by the 


RHODES & McCLURE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 


in the ofl&ce of the Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. C. 

A// Rights Reserved. 

\ 


CONTENTS 


Chapter i. Clayton Palliser’s Mission - - - . 17 

Chapter 2. The Grave on the Mountain Side - - 41 

Chapter 3. The Arch Villain - 76 

Chapter 4. The Marshaling of the Clans - - - 93 

Chapter 5. An Aggregation of Startling News - 124 
Chapter 6 . A Lover’s Quarrel ----- 148 

Chapter 7. How Bob Willis unfolds His Plan - 165 
Chapter 8. The Meeting of the Forces - - - 183 

Chapter 9. Clayton Finds a Clue ----- 199 

Chapter 10. Bill Thornton’s Scheme - - - - 214 

Chapter ii. Border Combat - - - - - - 225 


12 CONTENTS — CONTINUED. 

PAGE 

Chapter 12. The Compact ------ - 245 

Chapter 13. A Night in Fox Valley - - - - 266 

Chapter 14. The Midnight Execution - - - - 305 

Chapter 15. The Exhumation ------ 326 

Chapter 16. The Lurking Foe ------ 364 

Chapter 17. Tom Alton’s Story ----- 382 

Chapter 18. The Written Confession - - - -418 

Chapter 19. News from Fox Valley - - - - 430 

Chapter 20. The Rose-Crowned Precipice - - - 445 

Chapter 21. Hart Emerson’s Reparation - - 472 

Chapter 22. The Serpent’s Last Wriggle - - - 507 

Chapter 23. A Self-Appointed Detective - - - 517 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FROM DRAWINGS BY H. S. DELAY. 

OPPOSITE PAGE 

The Stage Coach - - ______ Frontispiece 

In another moment the horsemen had ridden up with 
a chorus of pleasant greetings ~ 

They saw there, lying dead, their old schoolmate, 
Fannie Benton - -- -- -- -- --76 

“Promise me one thing before 3'ou go, won’t you, 
Willie 92 

One of the robbers had his horse shot from under 
him _________ _____ 124 

The two boys stood with open-mouthed wonder at 
the expression on his face --------148 

“But suppose it is found out on us, what then - 165 
The campers beheld within the radius of the firelight 
a weirdl}' clad figure - -- -- -- --183 

The young man was just in the act of tethering his 
pony when Clayton came up - - - - - - -199 

Bill Thornton had ridden up to camp in the first 

gleam of the morning sun -214 

Sweeping down on the place, leaving a cloud of dust 
behind them - -- -- -- -- -- - 225 

(13) 


14 


ILLUSTRATIONS —CONTINUED. 


“You’ll have to take them over our dead bodies, if 
you want them - -- -- -- -- -- 245 

In an instant two rifles were thrown to burly 

shoulders - -- -- -- -- -- -- 266 

Waiting and watching for the quivering form to be- 
come motionless ---------- - 305 

She stepped out into the yard to get a better view 
of them - -- -- -- -- -- -- 326 

“Well, do I look like a desperado?” ----- 364 

They beheld the stricken foe stretched out on his 
back, apparently lifeless - -- -- -- - 382 

He grabbed her by the throat and choked her to 
death - -- -- -- -- -- -- -418 

Nick Alton, standing with his back to the fire - - 430 

Elsie Britman, looking out of the window at the 

departing day - -- -- - 445 

Clayton was left alone with the man that had been 
the foundation of his troubles - - - - - - -471 

It required every grain of the Palliser grit to stand 
that tortuous ride over the mountains - - - - 507 

As Jack fired his horse shied at the dogs - - - - 517 


THE PIONEER’S HOARD 


CHAPTER 1. 

CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 

There were only six men aboard, all men, and men, 
too, in all respects determined looking men, who looked 
as though they could acquit themselves creditably in any 
undertaking. Without any gainsaying they were the 
sort of men that constitute the nucleus of civilization, 
although if any one unacquainted with them and the 
conditions they strove with could have peered beneath 
their coats and beheld there the forty-five calibre six 
shooter and cartridge belt they would have averred to 
the contrary. And it is just possible that no mere hand- 
ful of roadagents would have dared tackle that stage had 
they known the character of the occupants, as the afore- 
mentioned weapons were only the arbiters of justice, and 
directed only where necessity demanded against the law- 
less element then threatening to engulf the sparsely 
settled portions of the region West of the Mississippi. 
The driver had thrown off his coat, so warm was the 
bright November sun which hung like a bambent ball of 
fire in the Western sky, lighting up the long purple 

(17) 


i8 


CLAYTON PALLISER’S MISSION. 


stretches of mountain scenery viewed by the passengers 
who had let their conversation flag and finally die out 
and were looking intently for outlines of Fox Valley. 
Here was the place where the stage had been held up 
twice. It was just over the next rise, and no better 
place could be imagined for a stage robbery. But the 
passengers viewed the scenery with evident satisfaction, 
evincing no signs of alarm as yet, while the stage slewed 
and bumped and floundered over the rough mountain 
road. And yet, while the men viewed the scenery and 
dreamed of cheerful firesides, the lurking devils that lay 
underneath that beautiful panorama of nature were seek- 
ing to make their homecoming one of sorrow and regret 
instead of joy. 

These six men were just returning from a visit to 
relatives in Kentucky, which was their native state. But 
as only two of them are to play any part in this narrative 
we will only take the trouble to describe those two. 

The other four were miners from the flourishing min- 
ing town of Joplin, and although they were damaged 
by the freebooters in a bank robbery that had already 
been perpetrated, thereby losing small deposits, they 
were as yet uninformed in regard to their loss. But the 
lumbering old vehicle was fast approaching Hobson’s 
Tavern, where it was to stay over night, and until it 
arrived there the passengers were all ignorant of any 
damage done them by Tom Alton and his followers, 
although they had engaged in a conversation in regard 


CLAYTON PALLISER’S MISSION. 


19 


to the future operations of the chief and his band. 

The other two nien had been lifelong friends, although 
there was a difference of fifteen years in their ages, and 
a vast difference in education, power of mind, and until 
a few years before the opening of our story there had 
been a great difference in financial standing. Clayton 
Palliser, by the record inscribed in the old family Bible 
at his home was twenty-seven years of age, quite enough 
to develope all the faculties of manhood. Many and 
many men grow up to manhood without anything to mar 
the even tenor of their lives, nothing unusual happening 
to gage the manly qualities in them. But Clayton 
Palliser was not one of them. A great calamity had 
befallen the Palliser family, one of doubt and perplexity 
of unforseen results, for they did not know whether to 
grieve or not until the true nature of the calamity was 
revealed. 

The Palliser s were a race of pioneers, and always 
seemed better satisfied in combatting the difficulties of 
the pioneer than in enjoying the advantages of a country 
already developed. Strong minded, buoyant, spirited, 
with creative minds and fearless, they had been promin- 
ent in the development of several of the states East of 
the Mississippi, and until a few years before our story 
opens they had not ventured on the West side of the 
Father of Waters. Clayton’s grandfather was one of 
the early pioneers of Eastern Kentucky, and being far- 
-sighted enough to obtain a great body of land whde it 


20 


CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 


was cheap he had been able to leave his children all 
pretty well off in this world’s goods. Aside from that 
there was a lot of good advice left to his offspring, advice 
which, if followed, would have prevented the calamity 
that had befallen the family. But the children as well 
as the grandchildren had all been thrilled by his narra- 
tives of pioneer days, and the effects thereof had not 
been dispelled as time passed, and the old gentleman was 
laid to rest and could no longer admonish them not to 
leave the comfortable surroundings that had been gained 
by so much toil and hardship. Time passed and the war 
between the states came on with all its dreadful con- 
sequences. The marshaling of the clans, the marching 
and countermarching, the terrible struggles between the 
contending armies has all been recorded by abler pens 
than ours. Clayton was thinking of that now. It 
seemed but yesterday that he had stood with the rest of 
the family and watched the retreating form of his father 
as he marched away to join his company. Then came 
a return home on a furlough and a short stay, after 
which the father and husband went away again. Then 
came the important battles, the eager scanning of the 
newspapers for the names of the killed, wounded and 
missing. Clayton well remembered the eager yet half 
dreaded occasions when the neighbors assembled for the 
purpose of learning through the reports who of their 
friends or relatives Were bereaved and offering condol- 
ence. Then, while he had seen others grieved he had 


CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 


21 


not been so himself, for Jason Palliser came out of that 
memorial struggle safe and sound. The war cloud had 
blown over and left the Palliser family intact. 

Peace had spread his wings over the reunited land, 
and while the many cruel scars were being gradually 
healed by time, capricious fate was preparing to thrust 
its shackles on many who had not been bereaved. The 
restless tide of immigration had set in from the over- 
crowded sections of the East, and many soldiers of the 
North sought homes in the South, while the discovery of 
rich deposits of mineral in the region West of the Mis- 
sissippi attracted thither great numbers — some in search 
of homes, some in quest of money, some prompted by 
love of adventure. The California gold mines, although 
not as rich as when first discovered, yet attracted great 
numbers in search of the precious metal ; while the 
broad, rich prairies, and deep, fertile valleys were being 
rapidly settled, the rugged Ozark region was being ex- 
plored for the most fertile spots by emigrants from the 
East who preferred to live in a wooded, mountainous 
region to the broad treeless plains that spanned the region 
between there and the Rockies. 

The early pioneer days of the Ozarks were long since 
passed, and many tales were told the newcomers by the 
natives how their fathers and grandfathers slew the black 
bear in his den and shot the wild deer for sport. These 
legends of the early history of the Ozarks were generally 
rehearsed by the flickering firelight of the capacious 


22 


CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 


fireplaces that was always a part of the dwellings then 
in vogue. That was the period when the railroad was 
almost unknown, when the settlers who had discovered 
and settled the most fertile tracts of the rugged region 
rounded up their cattle which roamed over a thousand 
hills, drove them to market and hauled their supplies in 
ox carts, when the twang of the drover’s and ox driver’s 
whips made the welkin ring, and the crack of the hunt- 
er’s rifle awakened the wild echoes of mountain gorge 
and forest plateau. And many of these early settlers 
amassed considerable wealth, despite the crude, rough 
conditions. Those who had come from the far East and 
the older settled portions could not tell how much their 
neighbors were worth by outside appearances, for as there 
was no necessity for stylish living, and as it was then very 
risky to place money in a bank, on account of the notori- 
ous legions that we have already mentioned, the settler’s 
wealth for the most part represented solid cash stowed 
away somewhere inside of the territory over which he 
was lord and master. This was about the condition of 
things when the tide of immigration set in and a new 
era began, which would have been both peaceful and 
prosperous had it not been for the lawless legions that 
lived by the sweat of others’ brows. 

Many letters from the new settlers found their way 
into the old home communities giving graphic descrip- 
tions of the new country, of the abundance of game, of 
the cheapness and fertility of land, and of the frank 


CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 


23 


hospitality of the natives. This encouraged more of 
their friends and relatives to try the untamed region, and 
\vhile some were attracted by the cheapness of land, 
others were attracted by the plenty of game, and some 
few were attracted by another cause, which will require 
a somewhat more lengthy description. 

When the flag of the Confederacy was folded away 
in the vaults of Appomattox the soldier who had gone 
through four years of stirring scenes was truly glad that 
he was no longer compelled to shoot down his brother 
and countryman like a dog, glad that once more the flag 
of the forefathers had triumphed, and although the ugly 
scars were still visible to his naked eye and his domestic 
felicity impaired he returned home with heartfelt joy to 
weld his sword into a pruning knife and take up once 
more the battle of life. But it was not long ere the 
battle of life began to grow tame and irksome and the 
soldier began to long for more thrilling operations than 
the commonplace one of daily duty on the farm, in the 
factory, and behind the counter. Hence the letters that 
found their way back to the old home communities relat- 
ing the stirring warfare between the lawless element and 
the law-abiding settlers also hinted that the latter were 
very much in the minority. This gave many of the 
soldiers an opportunity they had longed for. Here was 
their chance to get into active operations once more. 
Why not go to the region and show the denizens thereof 
how to make short work of the hellhounds that held such 


24 


CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 


despotic sway over the country that lay beyond the wide 
turbid sheet of water called the Mississippi. The news- 
papers also abounded with graphic descriptions of the 
struggles of the pioneers to break the yoke of the white 
savages that always succeeded the red ones in every new 
country. Many of them availed themselves at once of 
the opportunity thus offered to display their prowess and 
their bravery, but to some there was a great many draw- 
backs to their cherished ambitions. 

One of those who found their wills blocked in regard 
to migration to the new country was Jason Palliser. His 
family, after the death of his father, consisted of his wife 
and three sons, who were named respectively Clayton, 
Jason and Richard. The two latter were many years the 
junior of Clayton, and at the time our story opens were 
aged respectively fifteen and twelve. Jasie, as he was 
called, was the image of his father and also like him in 
disposition. Clayton was of a studious disposition, there- 
by taking after his mother’s people, while Dick, the 
youngest, was of a very quiet inoffensive disposition, and 
seemed as though he was perfectly satisfied to let things 
take their natural course. But Clayton and his brother 
Jason, being both ambitious and high-mettled, although 
their ideals of life were different, were the chief elements 
of domestic turbulance in the family. However there 
was one point on which they agreed, and that was their 
readiness to follow their father into the unknown regions 
of the West. 


CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 


25 


Jason Palliser had, like most of his comrades, been 
content with domestic felicity for a brief space of time 
until the reports of the struggles for liberty of the West- 
ern pioneers over whose portion of country the strong 
arm of the law had not been established began to pour 
in. Then came discontent. After that came a longing 
desire like the restless chafing of the war steed who scents 
the battle from afar, until the strenuous efforts to sup- 
press his cherished ambition on account of his better 
half only added fuel to the kindled fires of newly 
awakened pioneer ambitions. The wife and mother was 
strongly opposed to any such step, and being a woman 
who never hesitated to speak her mind, she hit the argu- 
ment he advanced some pretty smart raps, while her 
heart was quaking violently for the safety of her own 
cherished ambition, that of remaining amid the com- 
fortable surroundings of their peaceful Kentucky home. 

But she knew the Pallisers well enough to know that 
she might as well have tried to smother the volcano of 
Catopali as to thwart this new calamity, as she called it. 
The raging fires of ambition were ablaze. The long 
smoldering pioneer instincts were awakened. The father 
had worked on the fancies of his sons till the pioneer 
blood in their veins began to tingle at first and finally to 
boil and bubble. Often could they be seen reposing be- 
neath the shade of some tree, the sons listening to some 
of the pioneer legends of the family that their father was 
rehearsing for them. Oftentimes the mother discovered 


26 


CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 


them thus of a hot summer day, and her heart would 
sink within her. 

Then came a short lull, during which Palliser sought 
a purchaser for his property, while Mrs. Palliser, if she 
knew anything of his maneuvers, did not betray it either 
by word or look. 

After that came another storming of the citadel, and 
as we cannot take the time to recite all the arguments 
pro and con we will simply state that the wife and 
mother, realizing that she would see no peace till she 
gave her consent, did so, though reluctantly. 

So one morning in the month of September, in the 
3^earof our Lord, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, Jason 
Palliser went forth from his peaceful Kentucky home 
bound for the Ozark region. Clayton well remembered 
that farewell. It remained for him to bear the brunt of 
maternal wrath when, after the receipt of one letter from 
Jason Palliser, they heard no more of him. He had 
suddenly disappeared. No one of the old home ac- 
quaintances to whom they had written could give them 
any clew as to his whereabouts. The last any of them 
had seen of him was at the town of Ozark during the 
session of Circuit Court. He was in company with one 
Emerson, a man who bore a very tough name. He was 
negotiating for the purchase of a plantation in the James 
Rives valley, that was then owned by the man Emerson’s 
son. Hart Emerson. 

But all this had been communicated to the family by 


CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 


27 


Jason himself, but there was also a request, an admon- 
ition, or whatever it might be called. Clayton remem- 
bered it well, for the words seemed inscribed on his 
memory in letters of fire. 

“ If I should happen to come up missing,” wrote 
Jason Palliser in the finishing of his letter, “ I want you 
to move out here and stay until you ferret out the 
mystery. I have been through a long and bloody war, 
and have stood in the front ranks when the iron heel of 
death trod the lives out of men so fast their souls jostled 
each other in their outward flight. I have fought hand- 
to-hand conflicts with pistol and sabre when the air 
seemed illuminated with flashing devils. I have seen all 
of the rough side of life. Yet I never was seized with 
such gloomy feelings and dismal forebodings in my life 
as have possession of me while I pen you these lines. If 
I should not write any more make up your mind at once 
that I am betrayed. I will, however, take as good care 
of myself as possible. I had a strange sort of sensation 
the other night while asleep. It seemed as though I had 
been hurried alive. I awoke with a half stifled scream 
and when I recovered my equilibrium I rose and dressed 
and went out to get a little fresh air and recover from 
the effects of the sensation. This is all I have to tell 
this time, but don’t let it trouble you as it does me. You 
know if I had stayed at home I could not have averted 
anything that was destined to befall me.” 

Well, to make a long story short the family had 


28 


CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 


carried out his instructions and moved to the Ozark 
country, settling in a fertile little basin some eight or ten 
miles from the town where Jason Palliser had last been 
seen. Jason had taken with him all the money he pos- 
sessed save about five hundred dollars. If he had not this 
story would never have been written. Five hundred dollars 
was quite sufficient for the establishment of a home in the 
new country. The boys went to work with a will and 
soon overcame the difficulties of opening up a new place 
by steady attention to business. There was a snug little 
frame house built and other necessary equipments were 
added as time and means allowed. But Clayton and 
Josie were very particular in the construction of their 
dwelling to have as a necessary department of the house 
a room for the purpose of stowing and keeping their 
grandfather’s legacy of books and old-fashioned weapons, 
the former the property of Clayton, the latter the prop- 
erty of Jason, Jr. 

Time went on apace, and the family having searched 
vainly for a clew for two years were on the point of 
despairing when the news came of the death of Mrs. 
Palliser’s father, and a fresh grief was added to the list. 
But time passed and the grief of losing their relative was 
drowned out in a renewal of courage and devotion to the 
search for the missing one. The old grandfather had 
left legacies to them all, five hundred dollars apiece, and 
with the money at their disposal they would leave no stone 
unturned that might possibly lead to a solution of the 


CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 


29 


mystery. And Clayton was just returning from the old 
home community, whither he had been to obtain the 
money, to relate their experiences and visit their rela- 
tives that still lived there when our story opens. 

Jeff Carlton was forty-two, stoutly built, with a fat, 
blonde face, clear gray eyes, and of a jovial tempera- 
ment. Jeff had been a renter on the Kentucky farm 
owned by the Palliser’s until about two years before the 
disappearance of Jason Palliser, when he had come to 
Ozark region and settled. Many a time he had taken 
Clayton from his mother’s arms and amused him by 
singing some of the rollicking songs picked up from the 
melody-loving darkies of the plantations in the commun- 
ity. Jeff had always assumed a fatherly interest in the 
boy, and could not help doing yet, since Clayton had 
attained his majority. But Jeff was no more capable of 
fathoming the depths of Clayton Palliser’s mind than the 
child, the baby boy he had dandled on his knee, was 
capable of fathoming his own. Carlton, who was some- 
what egotistical, was not aware of this, and as Clayton 
was too good natured to even hint the fact, as a result 
nothing had ever occurred to mar their friendship. Jeff 
was possessed of a very great amount of common sense, 
and never undertook to dispense with any of his witty 
raillery in Clayton’s presence since his bereavement. A 
short tuft of chin whisker graced his chin, a short stubby 
mustache his upper lip, while the mild gray eyes were 
ever sparkling with humor, but it did not require a very 


30 


CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 


good student of human nature to tell you that he was 
strongly combative. Indeed, Jeff was a good fellow 
when things went smooth, but once let him get excited 
about the barbarous wrongs of the settlers and those mild 
gray eyes could emit glances of fire as terrible as the six 
shooter that dangled under his coat. He had gone 
through four years of toil and hardship in the new coun- 
try, and was fairly started on the road to prosperity, and 
was seemingly contented. But alas for the rosy fancies 
of the poor pioneer. He who had been a prominent 
ringleader in the warfare against the brigands of Fox 
Valley, was marked for vengeance, nay that vengeance 
had already fallen upon his luckless head. 

And the stage that the two friends and neighbors were 
making the return trip upon was now ascending a short 
incline, from the top of which could be seen the weird 
scenery of Fox Valley, where wild beasts and wild men 
abode unscared. A fit haunt it surely was for those who 
lived by prey for the wild impenetrable dingles and deep 
sheltered ravines and steep sided gulches offered shelter 
that no other place could afford, no, not even the dark 
pine forested plateaus surrounding it. The stage dropped 
slowly down the mountain sides, down through the 
mullien thickets and hawthorn and boulder-spangled 
glades, now reeling to this side, now suddenly wrenching 
to that side over some rugged boulder, until at last it 
lowered itself down a steep incline into the cool, dark 
thickets of the valley. Ominous looking enough was the 


CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 


31 


place through which they were passing, and it was only 
the sharp clipping voice of the driver that kept the pas- 
sengers’ spirits from sinking, for it seemed as though the 
cool, ominous shades were full of whispering demons 
boding disaster to the travelers who were bold enough to 
travel that dominion of evil. Not a year before that 
time that same stage had been held up while passing 
through this same woody dingle. But this time there 
was such a storm of leaden missiles hurled at them that 
they were glad to beat a hasty retreat into the jungle, and 
it was the opinion of many that it would never be under- 
taken again. But whatever the six passengers aboard 
believed, they were like the man visiting the haunted 
house who did not believe in ghosts, they could not help 
feeling a little creepy when they got into the place. The 
four stout stage horses were going a little brisker, as 
though they too were scenting danger, but one of them 
had been behaving in a “very” strange manner, as 
though something unusual was agitating him. Every 
now and then he would suddenly stop and throw up his 
head in a violent manner, at times nearly throwing the 
others off their balances. Then would be heard the 
sharp, stern voice of the Jehu firing a string of oaths at 
him, and then the stage would roll on till whatever it 
was that was agitating the horse would bring out another 
similar caper. 

But since leaving the top of the slope and starting 
down the long tortuous incline the horse had not repeated 


CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 


32 


his trick. The driver might have known that something 
about the harness was torturing the beast, but if he 
did he did not seem to care. Be that as it may, mat- 
ters were soon brought to a climax. The passengers 
were just beginning a lively hum of conversation about 
the possibility of a holdup, the driver was just reaching 
out for his coat, as the sun had sunk behind the crest of 
the mountain and the air was growing chilly. The place 
where the holdup occurred had been pointed out to the 
men before by the Jehu was near at hand. 

Suddenly there was a tremendous lurch of the clumsy, 
ponderous old vehicle, the driver, who was just endeavor- 
ing to fasten the lines to the line-staff while he drew on 
his coat, was nearly precipitated from his perch, and as 
the passengers sprang to their feet the stage came to a 
dead standstill. It is needless to say that the huge re- 
volvers underneath the coats of the passengers flashed 
into view in the twinkling of an eye. The driver threw 
his coat down, jumped to the ground, and as he did so 
half a dozen heads were thrust out and as many anxious 
voices inquired the cause of the stoppage. 

“That’s what I must find out,” laughed the Jehu, 
evidently much amused at their evident alarm. 

“Well, hurry up and find out then,” replied Jeff 
Carlton with a sigh of relief. “ I don’t want to stay in 
this place a second longer than I’m obliged to.” 

A subdued chuckle was the only reply, and the men 
again resumed their seats. 


CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 


33 


It only required a few minutes for the driver to find 
out that the horses collar was buckled too high to adjust 
it to suit the animal, and then after carefully scrutinizing 
other points to ascertain if anything was out of gear, he 
again resumed his seat, drew on his coat and uttering his 
sharp word of command, the horses again started the 
vehicle. Soon they were ascending the other slope, while 
the last glinting rays of the November sun were fading 
out on the top of the Eastern slope and the gayly frescoed 
landscape was fast being shrouded in darkness. Then, 
like the sudden exit of the pilgrim from the valley up to 
the still, sunlit hills the courage of the passengers arose, 
their tongues were loosened and they began another 
spirited conversation on the same topic. If the pas- 
sengers had been high up on the pinnacle of thought 
and taken into consideration certain aspects of the 
case, they might have ascertained without any trouble 
the reason why they were not held up. But not even 
Clayton, who possessed the widest range of thought 
of the company and deepest mind, also the best educa- 
tion, had made any remarks suggestive of the true 
cause, which we who are behind the scenes, know. Only 
twice had the attempt been made, and both times it was 
a failure, although the latter attempt was more so than 
the former. It seemed as though the bandit hordes had 
made up their minds to follow every line of brigandage 
that had yet been invented, and when stage robberies, 
bank robberies, cattle stealing and illicit distilling of 


34 


CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 


mountain dew became the chief topic of excitement, the 
settlers realized that their community was fast being 
swamped in a hopeless sea of outlawry. But whether 
the bandit chief was the son of the rich planter who had 
been led astray by the absorption of flash literature or 
some other member of the numerous Altan clan, or still 
some particular adventurous outcast who happened to 
assume that name, he was certainly well posted enough 
to know that trying to rob that stage was not worth their 
attention. ’Tis true, no better place for a holdup could 
be invented than the one that the two former attempts 
had been made in, but then it is likely that the shrewd 
bandit chief well knew that the men who traveled that 
route were all or nearly all of them Southern and West- 
ern men who were well trained in the use of firearms and 
always had them ready for use. This was the great 
artery through which surged the adventurous blood of 
two sections, and the banditta, having once been con- 
vinced of the uselessness of the attempt were content to 
let well enough alone and be satisfied with other fields of 
operation more easy and more profitable. 

So while the stage is going on towards Hobson’s 
Tavern, which was still some two or three miles farther 
up the slope of the mountain, we will venture on a still 
further description of the chief actors in this narrative. 

Clayton Palliser, whose age as we have already stated, 
was seven and twenty, and for superb, manly beauty he 
might be equaled, but never excelled. That was a family 


CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 


35 


heritage of the Palliser’s, but Clayton, who was, as it 
seemed, a revival of some old type of facial mold long 
ago extinct in the family, was a man who at once com- 
manded admiration and respect, both for the princely 
face and figure and the quiet though forceful demeanor. 
A frank, intelligent expression, clear liquid brown eyes 
and hair of the same lustrous brown, with a mustache of 
the same color also gracing the upper lip ; he was of a 
somewhat patrician appearance. He had treated him- 
self to some new and somewhat costly clothes out of his 
part of the money left by the old grandfather, and as he 
was garbed therein, now he very much resembled some 
wealthy young Southern planter on his way to the West 
in search of adventure. And he was not unaware of his 
personal charms either, from the boldness with which he 
had courted the favor of Miss Elsie Britman, a young 
Springfield belle, who occasionally visited her uncle, who 
kept the country store in the valley some two miles from 
Clayton’s home. Indeed that young lady seemed quite 
unconscious of any difference in her social position and 
that of the handsome young mountaineer, whose story 
she knew by heart and whom she considered her ideal hero. 

Clayton was one of those rare specimens of humanity 
whom every one likes. But no one was inclined to be at 
all jealous because he showed such marked preference 
for the friendship of the son of a neighbor, a ranchman 
who lived some four miles from his home. And while 
some considered it none of their business and said noth- 


36 


CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 


ing about it others could not refrain from asking those 
who were calculated to know what a man like Clayton 
Palliser could see to admire in the haruni scarum young 
ranchman, whose education consisted chiefly in cowboy 
skulduggery. If Jack Dalton had been brought up in 
the midst of surroundings not exactly calculated for the 
imbuement of gentlemanly instincts and absorption of 
worldly knowledge it certainly was no fault of his, but 
nevertheless he possessed one singular charm, that of 
sincerity. It was only while under the influence of 
liquor that he said things he did not mean. But his 
sincere frankness when sober was the chief attraction for 
his boon companion and close friend, young Palliser. 
But these were the days when the cattle barons of the 
West often accused each other of theft, and as a conse- 
quence bloodshed was sure to follow. The lie was 
passed, the weapons cracked and flashed, the welkin 
rang with shouts of defiance and screeches of pain, while 
the blood flowed and left its dark, guilty stain upon the 
greensward. Young Dalton’s mind seemed occupied 
chiefly with this sort of spirited fancies, but he was a 
friend worth having for all that. His knowledge of the 
world being gleaned from paper-backed novels of ad- 
venture and a limited supply of school books, he never 
failed to ask his friend about anything he did not under- 
stand. In fact. Jack was athirst for knowledge, but he 
preferred to have it instilled into his mind orally than to 
pour ov^r books. So time passed and the friendship be- 


CLAYTON PALLISEr’s MISSION. 


37 


tween the two had been firmly cemented, for Jack was 
as untiring in a search for a clew to the mystery of Jason 
Palliser’s disappearance as Clayton was himself. 

“ I wonder what the brotherhood is doing now,” re- 
marked one of the miners. The brotherhood, by the 
way, was the phrase invented by the settlers that denoted 
the lawless element. The mdn that spoke seemed to be 
a listless, absent-minded fellow, and had not caught the 
drift of the conversation. 

•‘Don’t know, for my p,art,” responded Jeff, remov- 
ing the big meershaum pipe that he had just lit from his 
lips and blowing a cloud of smoke upwards. “ Durn me 
if I ain’t half afraid they’re all out on some other tear-up, 
or else they’d a bin after qs to-night.” 

“ Wait till we get to Hobson’s, Jeff,” replied Clayton, 
with a light grin, “ maybe he can tell you.” 

Clayton had reference to the news-dispensing quali- 
ties of the old innkeeper, who was a subscriber to several 
good newspapers of both local and national fame, and 
never wearied in reciting their contents. So the stage 
rolled on up the slope while the passengers let the con- 
versation flag at first, then die out, then nothing broke 
the silence but the groaning and creaking of the old 
vehicle, as the horses, perhaps spurred by the thoughts 
of a liberal outlay of oats, corn and hay, drew the 
stage up the slope with a strong, steady stride. 

The moon rose in the Eastern sky and lit up the 


38 


CLAYTON PALLISER’s MISSION. 


Ozark Range in all its weird, somber beauty ; the night, 
although slightly chilly, was seemingly suffused over- 
head with a warm, mellow glow, imparted by the depart- 
ing rays of the sun, which was not yet ready to give 
place to the queen of the night. The owls began their 
ominous night serenade, occasionally checking up to fly 
away as they saw the sparks from some settlers chim- 
ney. And amid this solemn hush of nature’s forces 
Jeff Carlton was seized with a fit of melancholy that 
finally developed into one of fear and anxiety. 




In another moment the horsemen had ridden up with a 
chorus of pleasant greetings. 


CHAPTER 11. 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 

Meanwhile at Hobson’s Tavern all was bustle and 
activity. The two hostlers were kept busy caring for the 
constantly arriving guests, while those that arrived dur- 
ing the day were in the house striving to pass the time 
intervening between that and supper. Those who had 
lately arrived all stood around the barnyard in little 
groups talking, while some of them kept a sharp eye 
upon the movements of the hostlers lest they were slack 
in their treatment of their steeds. The milkmaid at the 
corral back of the huge barn was singing a love ditty, 
while the plaintive tones of a banjo, wielded by some 
skillful hand up at the house, were plainly audible, and 
the air seemed to vibrate with delicious melody. Pic- 
turesque planters from the James River, wealthy sports- 
men from Springfield mingled freely with cattle drovers, 
gamblers, hard-fisted, weather-beaten tillers of the soil, 
and a light sprinkling of travelers were the guests that 
were to partake of the hospitality of the old stage-route 
tavern that night. The constant banging of the storage 
house door and the flitting figures through the lights of 
the kitchen window gave evidence that the cooks were 
striving to please the numerous assembly of well-to-do 

(41) 


42 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


guests by a well-cooked and bountiful spread of sub- 
stantial viands. And while all this was going on old man 
Hobson, “Uncle Zack,” as he was called, sat in his 
ofBce reading a newspaper aloud to about half a dozen 
listeners who gave him that strict attention which he was 
so fond of while dispensing the news. Uncle Zack was 
reading in a loud, excited and spasmodic strain, and 
occasionally stopped to explain his view of the case, 
while the listeners gave a chorus of assenting grunts, 
and then the old man would adjust his spectacles and 
read on. 

The country was ablaze with excitement. The news- 
papers were full of the accounts of depredations com- 
mitted, both great and small. The brotherhood of 
plunderers had shocked the nerves and disturbed the 
peace of their fellow men once more. None of the re- 
ports were in the least exaggerated, as it afterward trans- 
pired, for, emboldened by the weak and futile efforts of 
the citizens to protect themselves by law, the bandit 
bands had startled the country at large by a bold and 
shocking crime, one that would have made the ghosts of 
ancient brigands whistle with surprise. The feud-ridden 
Ozarks were once more to be torn with clannish strife. 
What had been done to check the advance of lawless- 
ness seemed to be but a scarecrow, and the crows had 
found it out and were now flapping their wings in its face 
and hurling defiance in its teeth. 

And it was of this that Hobson was reading and ex- 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


43 


plaining, but we will leave it with him and his listeners 
while we recite the arrival of one more guest. 

The bright, mellow rays of the November moon, 
mingling with the departing rays of the sun, cast a warm 
mellow glow over the sky, and the new arrivals still 
lingered at the barn lot. The milkmaid had finished her 
task and retired, the banjo-player had grown tired and 
ceased his playing. The noise of the place was gradu- 
ally dying down and subsiding into a quiet almost as 
dense as that of the deep, dark woods that hemmed it. 
Nothing, only the occasional click of a gate latch and 
the munching of the horses, broke the stillness. 

The throng of guests were at last satisfied that their 
steeds were well cared for and were just filing out of the 
big gate that opened into the highway. The tavern 
stood just across the road, some twenty yards distant. 
The air was growing slightly chilly, and some few of 
them, anxious to get indoors, strode rapidly toward the 
house, while some of the others lingered out in the road, 
evidently having not been satisfied with the length of 
their conversation. 

Suddenly the clatter of horses’ feet broke in on the 
hearing of those outside. Nearer and nearer came the 
hoof beats, while some who were misled as to the direc- 
tion looked the wrong way. 

“ What does that mean remarked a wealthy Spring- 
field sportsman, a man of some forty years of age. 

‘'Guess we’ll have to wait and see,” replied another 


44 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN StDfi. 


Springfield hunter, who had come into the wild region 
every season for the last ten years. This was the hunt- 
ing season, and all the months of November and Decem- 
ber Hobson’s place was more or less favored with this 
class of guests. But the eyes of the bystanders, when 
turned in the right direction, beheld the object that had 
attracted their attention in the shape of a young and 
smooth-faced man with large blue eyes, flashing with 
excitement, and a broad-brimmed white hat set jauntily 
on the back of his head, overcoat buttoned tightly around 
his body and riding at a brisk canter from the Western 
terminus of the short lane. On each side of the nimble 
little pony which he rode was one more mettlesome 
pony with saddle on, and the clatter of the stirrups 
and creak of the saddles made some of the horses 
already installed within the capacious barn snort with 
terror. As the weather had been dry for some time, the 
road was covered with a thick coat of dust, and the three 
animals left a thick cloud of it behind them. The crowd 
scattered out of the road, some going to one side, some 
to the other, but all of them, having their curiosity 
aroused, staid to learn the errand of this youth with the 
three saddled ponies. 

Drawing rein abruptly, the young man shouted to the 
hostler who was just closing the gate: 

“ Hold on, Sam, don’t close up yit.” 

The hostler looked around, and without any word of 
greeting, replied : 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


45 


“Ride in if you want to put up.” 

“Ain’t only goin’ to stay fOr supper,” responded the 
young man, as he rode in. 

“Why, what’s up. Jack,” replied the hostler, closing 
the gate and coming around the heads of the ponies the 
young man was leading in order to avoid any contact 
with their heels. “ What ye doin’ over here with them 
three saddled ponies r* 

The crowd in the road, also anxious to ascertain that 
which the hostler had asked, now came and peeked 
through the slats of the gate, eager to catch the reply. 
The young man with the ponies had stopped when he 
had ridden in, and sat jauntily in his saddle while the 
fiery, restless ponies pranced around the one that was 
being ridden, making the hostler dodge first one way and 
then the other. 

The young man reflected a moment before replying 
to the hostler’s query. 

“Well, it’ll keep, boys,” he said, looking around at 
the others with a familiar, knowing expression on his 
bold, handsome visage. “Wait till we git these wild 
zebras out of the way and if I don’t tell you somethin’ 
worth bearin’ my name ain’t Jack Dalton.” 

With this assurance the crowd betook itself to 
the house while the hostler led the way to the barn, fol- 
lowed by Jack Dalton and his ponies. 

When Jack had dismounted the hostler, after open- 
ing the dpor of an empty stall, spoke and said; “I 


46 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


guess yer jist goin’ to tell us about the late tear-up, ain’t 
yer, Jack.? We already know about that.” 

“The devil you do .?” blurted out the young man. 
“ How in Sam Hill did you git hold of it .?” 

“The papers ar’ full of it,” answered the hostler, 
with a light ring of irony in his tone. 

Dalton seemed nonplussed for a moment, but his bold 
spirit soon rallied. 

“ But the papers don’t know ever’thing though, Sam. 
I’m fresh from the scene of action, and have had ocular 
proof of ever’ detail.” 

The hostler stared hard for a moment, but it was the 
improvement in Jack’s grammar rather than his announce- 
ment that caused him to do so. 

“ Bin goin’ to college, ain’t ye. Jack .?” 

“Naw, I ain’t,” replied young Dalton, as he un- 
strapped the saddle girth of the pony he rode. “ Never 
mind anything of that kind now, Sam.” 

So the two proceeded to stall and feed the ponies 
without any further remarks other than that which re- 
lated to the business in hand. A lapse of quiet again 
ensued, and the two young men were through with their 
task and were once more in the mood for talking. They 
stood for some time leaning against the side of the barn 
talking in low, muffled tones. And while Jack was recit- 
ing what he knew about the late depredations of Tom 
Alton and his followers, and the hostler was informing 
him what the newspapers lacked of having the complete 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


47 


report, the stage coach was lumbering up the last slope 
and coming out on the level that stretched for seme dis- 
tance before reaching the tavern. The moon rose higher 
and higher in the vault of heaven, and only the most 
prominent of the stars shone through the yellow glare 
that overspread the sky. Nearer and nearer came the 
stage, till at last the noise thereof broke in on the hear- 
ing of the two young men at the barn. 

“There they come now,” ejaculated the hostler, 
starting at a brisk pace toward the gate, followed by 
Jack. 

“Yes, and there is two passengers aboard that will 
ride them two extra ponies out to-night,” remarked 
Dalton, as he unbuttoned his overcoat and loosened the 
pistol belt that encircled his waist. “ My, Sam, but I’d 
give twenty-five dollars if it was over with.” 

“What.?” 

“The job of telling them the news,” answered Jack. 
“ Oh, but won’t Jeff tear his hair when he learns what’s 
happened .?” 

‘ ‘ That’s what he will do at first, I guess, but I’m 
thinkin’ he’ll lift a little hair to wind up with if I’m enny 
judge of human faces.” 

“Dead right you are, Sam,” replied Jack. “Jeff 
didn’t go into the fray with any intention of backin’ out, 
and don’t you forget it.” 

The two repaired to the road to meet the stage, while 
the other two hostlers, having caught the sound of the 


48 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


arriving vehicle, hastily joined them. The)'' had not 
long to wait, however, for almost ere young Dalton and 
the other hostlers had exchanged greetings, the driver’s 
voice urging the horses into a brisk trot was plainly 
audible, and in a moment the vehicle drew up to the 
tavern, the driver jumped to the ground, and the dust- 
begrimed horses dropped their heads, weary with the 
long, arduous ascent of the slope. In a brief moment 
there emerged from the coach six solid looking men, the 
passengers we have before mentioned, and there was a 
hasty rush by the three young men for the group who 
stood on the grass-plot looking around for some one to 
welcome them. 

While the hostlers are busy caring for the horses, and 
the guests at the house are lounging and endeavoring to 
pass off the time till supper, we will recite what trans- 
pired there on the moonlit grass-plot this eventful No- 
vember night. 

The six men had not long to wait for some one to 
appear, for the bright light of the moon enabled them to 
recognize, besides the two hostlers and young Dalton, 
two men coming from the house who had either become 
tired lounging and wanted to stretch their legs in walk- 
ing about, or had an interest in some of the passengers 
who had just arrived on the stage. But the four miners 
evidently recognized them from the remarks they made, 
while Jack was exchanging greetings with his two friends, 
asking questions about their trip and trying to hide tbp 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


40 


restless, anxious feeling that naturally possessed him at 
having to tell his friends of the important and terrible 
events of the last few days. By the time the two other 
men had arrived on the scene Jeff had discovered the 
suppressed excitement of his friend, and a spasm of 
alarm convulsed him. Clayton also noticing the jerky 
manner of his friend, immediately surmised that some- 
thing was wrong, and knew also that Jack was striving 
to invent some easy way of beginning his recitation. 
Clayton knew the nature of young Dalton well, and 
played upon his feelings just like a musician does his in- 
strument. His mind at once began to revolve a plan for 
loosening Jack’s tongue. Noticing also that Carlton was 
getting restless he studied hard for a moment while the 
other two men had come up and exchanged greetings 
with the four miners. 

Turning to the two men after they had exchanged 
greetings, Clayton began thus : “Quite a crowd here 
to-night, isn’t there ? Shouldn’t wonder if we didn’t 
have to move on on account of the rooms being all 
taken.” 

This latter was addressed to the miners, and they 
began to fear that he was in earnest, as they did not 
know the capacity for accommodation like those who were 
wont to frequent the place. They made no reply, and 
Clayton again spoke : 

“I guess Uncle Zack is as happy as a young pigeon 


50 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


1 


to-night, isn’t he ? Wonder if he’s dispensing the news ^ 
to his guests to-night 

This latter remark attracted the attention of Jack 
Dalton, and he threw off the disguised tranquility in a . 
jiffy. Taking a step or two toward Clayton he ejacu- ' 
lated wildly; ■ 

“News! You bet there’s news, and plenty of it, I 
too, elate. ” 1 

The two men that came out to greet the miners now ^ 
seemed pleased that the ice was broken, and began to 
stride excitedly around on the grass, undecided whether 
to let young Dalton tell the tale or take their friends off 
to one side and tell them separately. After Jack’s ex- 
plosion Clayton, Jeff and the four miners were plunged 
into a whirlpool of anxiety and curiosity, and when, 
after a short lapse of comparative silence, neither Jack 
nor the other two had started to unfold the budget of 
information, Clayton again interfered, thus : 

“Jack, you and these men know something that we 
want to know too, and the sooner we are told the better 
we will like it. What is it, anyhow ? Has the brother- 
hood been on another forage, or is some of our folks 
dead 

“The former, date. The former.” Jack was mak- 
ing very good progress under Clayton’s tutorship in the 
acquirement of proper grammatical sentences, and he 
was also making good progress toward the formation of 
his narrative. “ Listen now, boys,” he entreated, “ and 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


51 


ril tell you something that will make your hair stand up 
straight.” 

The others now formed a group in front of the excited 
young mountaineer, and without any further urging he 
began and told the following bit of news : 

On the night of the 8th of the month Alex. Dalton, 
Jack’s father, had taken with him all of his cowboys, 
save two, and started for the town of Republic with a 
drove of cattle for shipment. While they were away 
and the same night about midnight Tom Alton and his 
men swooped down on the ranch, killed the two remain- 
ing cowboys and drove off about fifty head of two-year- 
old steers. Not satisfied with that, they had, in passing 
Jeff Carlton’s house, set fire to every building on the 
place and stolen all of his best horses that were in the 
pasture next to the ranch. Next morning Jasie Palliser, 
while out hunting, ran across the dead bodies of the 
cowboys and gave the alarm, after which a search was 
inaugurated to see if anything more had transpired of a 
damaging nature. 

But Jack had reserved that part of it relating to Jeff’s 
loss for the last, and while Jeff was slowly letting the 
fire of wrath kindle within him, and beginning to believe 
that he had escaped. Jack came out with this startling 
announcement : 

“And, Jeff, they’ve settled you, too, this time,” he 
continued rapidly, having now paved the way for the 


52 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


reception : ‘‘Burnt every building on the place and stole 
all yer best horses. ” 

Carlton started as if he had been stung by an asp 
and an ashy pallor overspread his countenance. He took 
a step forward and laid one hand on Jack’s burly shoul- 
der, ejaculating wildly: “Jack, do you speak the truth 
On being assured, Carlton stepped back, nearly knock- 
ing over one of the miners in his terrible frenzy. A 
frightful spasm of rage convulsed his solid frame and his 
hand involuntarily clutched at the pistol underneath 
his coat, but the folds of the garment intervening re- 
minded him that the hated foe was not yet in sight. A 
light strain of sorrow had been detected in his voice at 
first, but the combative element of his nature soon held 
undisputed sway, and Clayton and Jack turned away 
with a shudder of horror. Never before had they beheld 
the countenance of that beloved friend light up with such 
ghastly fires of evil passions. 

Ah, what a world of meaning can sometimes be ex- 
pressed in one short sentence. That startling announce- 
ment had in it the spark that exploded the magazine of 
wrath all over the country, for it had been announced in 
every conceivable way. By the newspapers in long 
thrilling sentences ; by the armed men roving the wild, 
untamed region, and by all sorts and all conditions of 
people. The down-trodden pioneers of the West were 
now thoroughly aroused, and could Jeff Carlton but have 
felt the sympathy of his fellow men that was being then 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


53 


expressed for him his soul would have cast off the terri- 
ble spasm of wrath in a flow of manly tears. But as he 
was not aware of anything but the fact that the toil of 
years had all been devoured by the flames of wrath 
hurled at the settlers in bold defiance, he gave vent to 
his feelings in a string of maledictions while the others 
looked on in silence and deprecating assent. 

The flitting shadows of the night were fast disap- 
pearing before an ascending moon, the night wind began 
a low, muffled stir mid the tall pines and gnarled oaks 
of the surrounding forest ere the two hostlers had finished 
caring for the four stage horses and joined the group on 
the greensward. The two men that had come from the 
house when Clayton and the other passengers had arrived 
now managed to impart to the four miners the fact that 
the bank at the town of Girard, Kansas, had been robbed 
and that they were all of them losers thereby. Jack had 
informed Jeff that it was all right, that he had come 
there for the purpose of taking him and Clayton back 
with him to a meeting that was appointed for the following 
day, in which a purse was to be made up for him and 
others that had been unfortunate enough to lose a portion 
of their hard earned possessions by the hands of sneak 
thieves. He also whispered something in Jeff’s ear, also 
Clayton’s, but what it was we will leave alone until the 
three are started out on their moonlight ride over the 
mountains. 

Where are we to meet at did you say exclaimed 


54 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


Carlton, absently. Another emotional spasm was creep- 
ing upon him ; this time a conglomerated infusion of 
spirits strove for the mastery. One of them was a feel- 
ing of glad surprise at the interest the people took in his 
loss. 

“At Ike Steven’s,” answered Jack, anxious to see Jeff 
be quit of the terrible spasms of emotion that rent him. 
“Ike is goin’ to have a sale of some cattle to-morrow, 
and we must be there at all odds. Don’t take it so 
hard, Jeff,” he entreated, stepping up closer and laying 
his hand on Jeff’s shoulder. “You’ve got more friends 
than you think you have, and you mark my word for it 
this will be the beginning of the end of Tom Alton’s 
reign. ” 

Carlton, now realizing the fact that he was only dis- 
tressing all present and doing no good, affected a return 
of his equilibrium if he did not actually feel the tumult 
subsiding within him. He stood for a brief space of time 
gazing Westward toward the home that lay in ashes, and 
while the others were discussing the late bank robbery, 
and the miners, the men who had lost their savings there- 
by, were also uttering a chorus of maledictions, he was 
enveloped in a melancholy fit of sadness that seemed a 
relief to his over- wrought feelings, just torn by the caus- 
tic and terrible emotions of wrath of deep-dyed hate and 
resentment. The voices of the men grated on his sense 
of hearing like so many ghostly whispers, now remind- 
ing him of past hopes that were dead and gone forever. 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


55 


His long, arduous battle with the rough mountain soil, 
the many hard thumps and bumps of the pioneer hus- 
bandman were all for naught. No wonder the poor set- 
tler had given way to the dominant element of his nature 
when it was imparted to his knowledge that all the toil 
and sacrifice of years had gone up in flames, and he was 
mentally forming a picture of the desolate scene that lay 
far away to the Westward. He had been informed by 
young Dalton that his family was at the ranch, and a 
great longing to see them once more came over him. To 
clasp once more the wife in his strong arms, to tell her 
that he was not yet beaten nor discouraged, to tell her 
once more of his love, and to once more see his children 
and hear their artless prattle, and to fondle them as 
never before was now his chief desire, and he was be- 
ginning to chafe at any proposed delay. He turned once 
more to the excited group. He made no pretense of 
mixing in the noisy gabble of the others, who were at- 
tracting the attention of those at the house by their loud, 
excited and maledictory expressions now floating out on 
the night air in clear resonant tones. Not a word did he 
speak, not a sign of emotion did he betray as he listened 
intently to the explosions of wrath that now seized upon 
his fellow travelers on receipt of their own message of 
calamity. 

But this demonstration of wrathful excitement could 
not last always. The smell of the cooking viands eman- 
ating from the kitchen was whetting the already well 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


56 


braced appetites of the assemblage and those of the 
group outside who had not undergone great mental 
agitation were beginning to evince a desire for retiring. 
Presently Jack, stimulated perhaps by the scent from the 
kitchen and an anxious desire to be on the way, ex- 
claimed : 

“Well, boys, lets go to the house. No use takin’ 
any more of the night air than we are compelled to.” 

And, leading the way, young Dalton gave evidence of 
a prompt, decisive action. The others followed, still 
keeping up a chorus of excited comments. Just as the 
last man had stepped inside the yard and was in the act 
of closing the gate, the bell, which was elevated on a 
stout post near the corner of the kitchen, gave a thun- 
derous peal, announcing supper. 

Let us pass over the interval between that and 
the time of starting, as nothing of an important nature 
transpired during the meal, which was not marked 
by any demonstration of excitement save an occasional 
pitying glance bestowed by the few who were acquainted 
with him upon the man who had met with the loss of his 
home. Casual remarks about the weather, the prospect 
of hunting the swift-footed deer, and the wild turkey 
with which the region abounded, but nothing was said 
about hunting the human wolves that made their ren- 
dezvous amid the dark, deep recesses of the craggy 
mountain stream that lay only a few miles off. And 
Jeff, who had managed to recover from the frightful 


THE GRAVE ON THE .»IOUNTAIN SIDE. 


57 


emotions that convulsed him, actually took part in the 
spasmodic talk about the hunting prospect as if nothing 
had happened. 

But he only made pretense of eating. Despite the 
copious draughts of delicious coffee, flavored with rich 
country cream, the food he attempted to swallow would 
suddenly swell within his throat, nearly starting the tears 
from his eyes, while he was glad of the chance of assist- 
ing the wealthy sportsmen to his knowledge of bagging 
the objects of their thoughts in order to sit out the 
allotted time of the meal. And the hunters were greatly 
surprised and elated at the information imparted by Jeff, 
for he had been a successful hunter of wild animals be- 
fore he became a hunter of wild men. His knowledge 
of the habits of wild animals was gleaned from the 
books treating on that subject which he had borrowed 
from the library of Clayton, the legacy of Grandfather 
Palliser. 

The moon was sailing grandly up through the Eastern 
sky, diffusing a volume of bright light undisturbed by any 
sign of clouds or weather lights, when our three friends, 
accompanied by the two hostlers, emerged from the 
house. Repairing straightway to the barn, the trio was 
soon mounted, and with farewell greeting to the hostlers 
they put spurs to their steeds and the nimble little animals 
shot up the road like so many carrier pigeons just turned 
loose. The hostlers shouted after them to be careful and 
not expose themselves unnecessarily to danger, but the 


58 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


creak of the saddles and the thud of the hoofs drowned 
it out as the trio shot with the speed of the wind out of 
the mouth of the short lane and turned the corner of 
the corral fence, and after a short distance plunged into 
the deep, dark woods. The rail fence inclosing the old 
field of some ten acres that lay West of the corral 
stretched away to the right for a short distance, and 
then after another short stretch it turned a square corner 
and ran directly on the East and West line. Beyond the 
Eastern boundary of the field lay a conglomerated mass 
of woods, small patches of cultivated land, some of it 
lying in the small basins that the early settlers found 
covered, not with timbers, but grass, and were very pro- 
ductive and owned by Uncle Zack Hobson, who had it 
enclosed with a barbed wire fence, as the land that was 
the most productive was only in small patches. But we 
are digressing. After the distance of a mile, perhaps, 
the trio struck the last slope before reaching the crest of 
the mountains, and realizing that wiry and long winded 
as the tough little ponies were, their trip of forty or 
more miles over the rough mountainous country in so 
short a space of time was quite enough to exhaust them 
without putting them to their best pace up the ascent, 
they checked their speed and relapsed into a walk. The 
ponies did not object to the proposed change of gait, but 
their recuperative powers being of a quick, elastic nature 
they began to chafe for the old gait ere the long tortuous 
ascent was covered. But their riders withheld them 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


59 


with a strong, steady grasp till the summit of the slope 
was at last recognized by the little clearing through which 
ran another road, crossing the one they were traveling. 
A log cabin, with a low flat roof and chimney built with 
the outside of the arch of sticks of wood split, and the 
flat side turned within, and lined with rocks and plastered 
with the sticky red clay of the mountains, stood at the 
North edge of the clearing, nearly hidden by a rank 
growth of oak sprouts. The settler that had pitched his 
tent there had long ago been convinced that the thin 
soil of the summit would not yield him a living, and 
pulled up stakes, leaving his claim to the mercies of the 
claim jumper. But no one had been inclined to renew 
the struggle with the thin, grubby soil, and the oak 
sprouts sprang up profusely from the grubs and low cut 
stumps of the clearing, and would have reigned supreme 
but for the annual possession taken of the place by 
parties of hunters who camped in the old cabin for the 
purpose of enjoying a season of undisturbed communion 
with nature, and giving full vent to their pent-up animal 
spirits without shocking the nerves of polite society. 
This was for the most part the class of sportsmen now 
installed at Hobson’s this fine November night. Wealthy 
planters, rich merchants, with a light addition of sports- 
men from St. Louis, were generally the occupants of the 
cabin for a short time either in the month of November 
or December, generally the former. But there was no 
one there now, and the trio of horsemen again gave the 


6o 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


ponies free reign, while they cast furtive glances at the 
dark shadows mid the clearing lest some lurking foe be 
concealed there. On they went, with rapid, untiring 
energy over the divide that stretched out for a distance 
of two or three miles, and then down the rocky slope in 
the valley of Brush Creek. By ten o’clock, as shown by 
an examination of Jack’s watch, they had reached the 
head of Swan Creek, and knew that half of the distance 
between there and their destination was covered. 

Jack had checked his horse in order to ascertain the 
time, and the other two did likewise. Jack turned the 
dial up to the light of the moon, and when, after a care- 
ful scrutiny, he announced the time, and his companions 
were waiting for him to replace his watch in his pocket, 
their ears caught the unmistakable sound of hoofs strik- 
ing against the limestone boulders that studded the road 
at intervals of twenty or thirty feet. The road here 
circled around a glade of some two hundred yards in 
length, studded by the usual scattered growth of cedars, 
prickly pears and stubby hawthorn. Part of the glade 
lay in a basin or sag to the left. As the bottom of the 
sag was too rough for travel, as a consequence the road 
circled around the head of it. But the trio had not long 
to wait for the approach of those who had startled them, 
for casting a searching gaze forward in the moonlight 
they beheld two mounted men coming up out of the 
basin by a short cut that led across the head of the sag 
and which, owing to the rocky surface, was scarcely 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


6l 


noticeable by one unacquainted with the place. 

In a few seconds the horsemen had covered the dis- 
tance between them and the three friends, and greatly to 
the surprise and agitation of the latter drew reign and 
stopped. 

A thrill of mingled fear and curiosity convulsed the 
trio at thus being confronte'd by — they knew not whether 
they were friends or foes, but owing to the excited con- 
dition of their comprehension they judged them the 
latter. 

For a moment supreme silence reigned. Then the 
stillness was broken by the voice of one of the strange 
horsemen : 

“Who are you he asked in a tone that could not 
possibly give offence. He had ridden up by the side of 
Clayton and eagerly scanned his features in the light of 
the moon. 

“Clayton Palliser, Jeff Carlton and Jack Dalton,” 
was Clayton’s prompt reply, and a quaver of some rising 
emotion was plainly audible as he pronounced the name 
of his chum. What was it that suddenly stirred the 
depths of his emotion, do you ask. We will tell you. 
It was the face of the man who addressed him. 

The man was apparently a very old man, although 
his figure was straight and unbent. His skin was the 
color of old parchment, with deep furrows lining the 
sunken cheeks, while a bushy white beard and luminous 
black eyes that glowered and snapped in the moonlight, 


62 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


and the sepulchral, sorrowful tone that he asked the 
question in made young Palliser start and his voice quaver, 
for the old man was to him the ghost of his grandfather, 
whose image was indelibly stamped upon his memory. 

But Clayton’s agitation was immediately discovered 
by the old man, and he let the fretful animal he was 
riding move on past the group a little way. Then he 
checked up again, and his companion rode up to the spot 
he had occupied and exclaimed : 

“If that is who you are, you are no enemy of ours, 
gentlemen.” He spoke in an emphatic tone, which set 
the trio of friends at ease. 

“ But who are you.?” demanded Jack, in his bold, 
off-hand manner of speaking when not in company with 
ladies. Jack’s bold but sincere, impromptu way of talk- 
ing was one of the chief attractions for Clayton, that 
amused and pleased him. 

The stranger seemed in no hurry to speak, but finally 
did so. “Well, my friend, if I tell you who we are will 
you believe me .?” 

He was to all appearance not over thirty years of 
age, tall and of regular build, a rather heavily molded 
head, and flashing blue eyes that shone with the clear 
light of honesty and truth. A long brown flowing beard 
covered his chin and the front of his shirt. 

“We certainly will, unless your voice, wnen telling 
us, gives a less truthful ring than it has so far,” replied 
Clayton. 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


63 


“Well,” began the other, in the same gentlemanly 
fashion, “we are the first and second lieutenant of the 
Fox Valley Stranglers, an organization of recent date, 
organized for the purpose of exterminating, by the use 
of a liberal supply of hemp and lead, those who have 
been preying upon us ever since the breaking out of the 
war. I am first and my companion there is second lieu- 
tenant of the organization. You see I know every one 
of you by reputation, and know your ambitions as well 
as I do my own. I know why you are here to-night and 
know all that one of you, perhaps, desires to know. We 
are now on our way back to the valley, having been out 
on a scout, and ascertained a lot of information that will 
be beneficial to us in our future operations.” 

Had the minds of either of the trio been settled they 
might have manifested a keen interest in the reference 
the man had made to one of their number. But their 
overwrought senses were already numb with the excite- 
ment of the time and the contact with the chilly night 
air, and the stranger, after a careful scrutiny of each 
countenance, having convinced himself that he was not 
thoroughly understood, spurred up his horse. 

“Coin’ to leave usT asked Jack, looking around. 

“Yes, we’ll ride on now,” answered the man, and 
then added by way of a parting salute: “Go after 
them, my friend, and spare not. Remember us, who 
have the most wrongs to redress, and tell your friends 
that we are greatly outnumbered, but while you are 


64 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


hammering at them from without we will be tearing at 
them within. Good night,” and the two strange men 
rode on. 

Morning broke at last over the mountains. The sun 
came up bright and clear and unclouded as usual. The 
chilly breath of the night was soon chased away by the 
warm rays of the lord of the day, diffusing light and 
warmth to all creatures. The squirrel leaped joyfully 
from branch to branch of the tall oaks, the whir of the 
peasant’s wings once more broke the stillness of the 
forest, and the sound of the hunter’s dogs and gun once 
more echoed over the landscape. But all this was of 
secondary importance on this particular morning. 

The farm of Ike Stevens was one of the few upland 
farms of the region that presented a neat, well kept ap- 
pearance. But this was owing, perhaps, to the fact that 
Ike had been to California on a search for gold, and had 
been successful on a small scale, finding at least enough 
of the precious metal to come back home and lift the 
mortgage that was eating up the homestead, and to im- 
prove and stock it well with a high grade of stock. 
Being a bachelor, and of a generous and charitable dis- 
position, Ike, having no family to tax his finances, lived 
alone on his farm with a hired hand whom he paid a 
good monthly salary, while he did the housekeeping and 
sought out and relieved all the new and poor settlers 
whose oftimes destitute condition appealed to him. And 
Ike was also fond of entertaining company of the male 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


65 


persuasion, and many were the nights that belated 
travelers found refuge beneath his hospitable roof, while 
no matter what time in the day any one came there, nor 
did it matter the distance that he had come, Ike was 
sure to ask him whether he had eaten. 

So this bright November morning Ike, who was an 
early riser, on going out to the wood pile to get more 
wood to replenish the kitchen stove, was startled at the 
sudden noise of hoof beats breaking in on his hearing, 
and on looking down the road that ran nearly due East 
from his front door, he saw in close proximity three 
mounted men. At first glance he did not recognize 
them, but in another close scrutiny of their countenances 
beaming in the bright glow of the morning, he knew 
them, and a wave of pleasant surprise swept over him. 
In another moment the horsemen had ridden up with a 
chorus of pleasant greetings and familiar, good natured 
banter. 

“Hello, Ike. How are you this morning. Ain’t 
afraid to stay by yerself yit. Bin to breakfast ? Fine 
morning, ain’t it All these questions and queries were 
rapidly ejaculated as the three sprang from their saddles, 
well knowing that Ike, who was bewildered a little by 
their sudden appearance, would give them a warm wel- 
come as soon as he recovered, and also a good warm 
breakfast, of which they stood in need after their long 
ride through the night air. And they also knew that all 
they ha4 to do was to mention the fact that they had 


66 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


ridden all night and Ike would suggest that they go to 
bed after they had eaten and get some sleep. 

“Well now, did you ever,” exclaimed Stevens, a 
pleasant light in his mild, blue eyes. “ Where in the 
name of creation have you all been, anyhow r he con- 
tinued, as they came up with their bridle reins in one 
hand and formed a line in front of him. 

“Been to Kentucky, Jeff and I,” replied Clayton. 

“And you. Jack i*” said Ike, addressing young Dalton. 

“Oh, I’ve been over to the valley after them,” re- 
plied Jack, with a humorous twinkle in his eye. “I 
wanted to get them out of there as quick as possible for 
fear they’d get into trouble.” 

“ Oh yes, I know what you mean,” replied Ike, with 
a knowing look, at the same time bestowing upon Carlton 
a pitying glance. “Well, hitch up and come in boys,” 
he said as he rapidly filled his arms with wood and turned 
and opened the gate. 

The trio obeyed, and followed him into the house. A 
bright fire was blazing cheerfully in the spacious fire- 
place, and as the trio were chilled somewhat with the 
night’s ride, they took the chairs proffered by their host 
and pulled them close to it. Then they sat down to 
meditate on the complicated state of affairs that en- 
grossed their minds, while Stevens went on to the kitchen 
with the wood. 

Presently Ike came back into the room, with a strange, 
mysterious expression on his ruddy face. He looked at 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


67 


Clayton long and steadily, while Jack and Jeff were 
sitting in their chairs half asleep, their senses benumbed 
by the various unpleasant circumstances that had lately 
befallen them. Clayton had also been enveloped in a 
veil of drowsiness, but on hearing Ike’s footstep he had 
managed to shake it off long enough to attempt a con- 
versation. But Stevens showed no inclination to talk 
just then, and Clayton caught the strange expression of 
his visage, which he construed into meaning that Ike had 
found a clue to the late depredations of the outlaws that 
had been covered in mystery. 

But after a few minutes had passed thus, and Clayton 
was again seized by the spell of drowsiness, Ike went 
back to the kitchen. 

A short lapse of time passed and our three friends 
were awakened out of the doze they had fallen into by 
the voice of their host from the kitchen door, saying : 

“Wake up, boys, and eat a bite before you go to 
sleep.” 

They shook off the spell as best they could, and 
obeyed the command, while Ike began the arrangement 
for waiting on them. When they were seated and had 
begun the onslaught on the bountiful supply of vituals 
Ike seated himself in a chair near the stove and began 
thus : 

‘ ‘ I guess you are all going to Washburn’s to-morrow, 
aren’t you. We’re to meet there to-morrow at 10 o’clock 
and see if we can’t find some way of stopping all this 


68 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


cussedness. And boys, we have got to fight,” he ex- 
claimed, raising his voice in a high pitch of excitement. 
“We’ve been dogged under long enough waiting for the 
law to take hold, and the longer we delay the worse it 
will be for us.” 

“ Yes, you are right,” responded Jeff, “but this is the 
first I knew of the resolution being adopted.” 

“ That was because I know’d you couldn’t take on 
too much at once,” exclaimed Jack. “I put off tellin’ 
you till we got here, so you would be in better shape to 
understand the new resolutions that have been drafted 
and ratified. ” 

A moment of silence ensued, in which the trio at the 
table slowly masticated their food and endeavored to 
collect their thoughts. Presently Ike, who had again 
assumed that strange expression, and who seemed as 
though he was anxious to relieve his mind of some secret 
he held, spoke thus : 

“Wonder if Hart Emerson will be there this time 

Clayton, who was facing him, now looked straight 
into his face and caught the strange expression. A thrill 
of apprehension convulsed him, a feeling of an expected 
clue to the unraveling of the dark mystery that he had 
so long sought in vain. And Ike, surmising the situation 
as it really was, awaited an answer before broaching his 
subject, while Jack went on with the following tirade : 

“It seems to me as though them fellers over there in 
tjie Jame? valley don’t c^re a rap whigh way the cat 


The grave on the moGnTain side. 


69 


jumps, that is none of them save Bill Nash. As many 
meetings as we’ve called none of them but him has ever 
showed up yit. Now, about Hart Emerson ; boys, its 
my opinion that he is a dark horse, and up to a good 
many wicked plottings that no one knows anything about 
but him. You know his name is on the roll, but what 
has he ever done to help us out ? Not a thing. He ain’t 
any worse than the rest of them, though, who always go 
off huntin’ or fishin’ or to Springfield on business every 
time there is work to do.” 

Ike had listened with a show of impatience to Jack’s 
tirade, and when he had finished he rose from his chair 
and taking the coffee pot in his hand he proceeded to 
replenish the cups. When he came around to Jack he 
filled his cup rapidly, and stepping back set the coffee 
pot on the stove. 

‘ ‘ Say, Jack 

Jack looked around with a knowing expression, as if 
he knew what was agitating his friend. “Well,” was all 
he said. 

“ Did you ever tell Clayton about the discovery you 
made inquired Stevens, catching, as he spoke, the 
startled expression assumed by Clayton. 

Jeff was too much occupied with his own troubles 
just then to catch the drift of the talk. Another sorrow- 
ful convulsion took possession of him, no doubt instilled 
by the thoughts of man’s cruelty to his fellows, as the 
various events transpiring since the war had illustrated. 


70 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


The close friends as well as the intimate acquaintances 
of young Palliser all believed with one accord that Jason 
Palliser had met with foul play at the hands of the 
Emersons. 

Another pause in the conversation of a few seconds, 
and then Jeff was conscious that something of import- 
ance was being unfolded by Jack, who had begun and 
continued thus : 

“date, you know what we have always suspicioned, 
don’t you A nod of assent from Clayton, and Jack 
continued : “ Well, the other day while we were cornin’ 

back from town, I made a discovery that fully confirms 
my own suspicions that I had long before I ever met with 
you. Don’t say a word to interrupt me now, and I’ll 
tell you all about it.” Jack here nudged Jeff, who started 
up from his emotional reverie, but it was quite a bit 
before he could extricate himself from his condition 
enough to catch the drift of Jack’s narrative. Jack con- 
tinued : “ It was the next day after the raid, and we 

had had unusually good luck in gettin’ off the cattle, and 
were cornin’ home ignorant of what had happened while 
we were away. Now, then, it seems strange how little 
things often lead to big things, don’t it? I was drivin’ 
the nag on back and Bill Nash was in the wagon with 
me. His horse had got loose in town, as he was ridin’ 
a young skittish colt who got skeered at the cars and 
went flyin’ out of town like the devil was after him. Bill 
know’d he would have to get home some other way, and 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


71 


just as I was driving out of the wagon yard he come to 
me and stopped me and asked me to ride in the wagon. 
As I was by myself and didn’t object to a little company, 
I told him I would be glad to have his company, and so 
we pulled out. The mules went very well till we got out 
on the flats, a few miles from the old Alton place, where 
Hart Emerson lives, and then they began to poke. We 
had come out into that little prairie up there, and as I 
noticed that the sun was gettin’ low I got fightin’ mad at 
the mules and reached down in the wagon bed for my 
whip. It was gone, and I know’d it couldn’t loose out 
through the bottom of the bed, so I began to study the 
matter a little, and all at once I recollected leaving it on 
the ground in the wagon yard. ‘ What’ll we do, Bill .?’ I 
says, ‘ there ain’t a switch as big as a darnin’ needle in a 
mile of here.’ ‘Oh,’ says Bill, ‘we ain’t got far to go 
till we can get one. Wait till we get down there on that 
bench above Emerson’s graveyard and you can get any 
kind of a gad you want. ’ I know’d Bill was right, and 
so I concluded to make out the best we could till we got 
there, and I larruped the mules with the lines, which 
made them trot up a little, and then fall back into the 
old gait after they struck the first little pull.” 

Jack here broke off his narrative, perhaps striving to 
ape the style of the actors in the story books, and con- 
scious that he had ended the first part of his narrative. 
He had eagerly scanned the face of his friend for any 
traces of emotional interest, but Clayton only sat with 


tHE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SiDfi. 


n 


averted face and downcast eyes, with that dreamy rever- 
ential expression of countenance that was his wont when 
listening to a long speech. He was of a careful, meth- 
odical disposition, and never vouchsafed an opinion until 
he was sure that he made no mistake. This had often 
been mistaken by his friends for lack of appreciation of 
their oft-repeated assertions of interested manifestations 
of his troubles, but especially their belief in the guilt of 
the Emersons. Not even Jack’s rabid declaration that it 
was his belief that it was the burden of that crime on 
Boyd Emerson’s mind and soul that drove him mad 
elicited any favorable comment from Clayton. He knew 
that Boyd Emerson had mixed up in a bitter feud back 
in the Cumberlands, and might have dispatched some of 
his enemies in some out of the way place that no one 
but himself knew about, and which might have prayed 
upon his mind till it drove him mad. He knew the story 
of that feud well. Better, perhaps, than any of the in- 
habitants of the Ozarks. His brother Jasie had often 
stoutly declared that the leader of the Fox Valley out- 
laws was no other than Jack Marston, one of the clan 
that had opposed the Emersons, and who had been 
sentenced to a short term in state prison for the killing 
of Dodd Emerson. To the boyish imagination of Jasie 
there was only one really bad man in the world and that 
was Jack Marston, the man who, according to popular 
belief, murdered in cold blood Dodd Emerson back in 
the Cumberlands. The great ambition of the boy was 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


73 


to become a successful hunter, but he had often declared 
that he would one day run across the leader of the Fox 
Valley outlaws and kill him, just like he would a deer or 
a turkey. The latter accomplishment had not yet been 
attained, however, for the lad had found that the old 
fashioned muzzle-loading rifle, the legacy of his grand- 
father, was of no account in regard to killing game at 
long range, which was the only way that an unskilled 
hunter could possibly kill them owing to the openness of 
the woods. However, there came one Christmas morn- 
ing a glad surprise for the boy in the shape of a repeat- 
ing rifle, and to say that he was a proud boy was 
exqressing it mildly. 

Jack, after a brief respite, in which he resolved that 
if this weighty evidence did not elicit the desired con- 
fession he would not any further interest himself, con- 
tinued in a slow, solemn strain : 

“When we got down on the bench I handed the 
lines to Bill and got out and drew my Jack knife from 
my pocket. I walked down to the thicket and stopped 
and began to cast my eye around for a suitable gad. 
Not seeing any on that side, I went around next to the 
old cabin site there and found an openin’ that led straight 
down from the ruins of the old house toward the corner 
of the graveyard. I walked down through the openin' 
in order to get one of the keen plum sprouts that grew 
up under the wild plum tree, some twenty steps from the 
old ruined fireplace. Beyond the plum tree a few feet 


74 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


the openin’ widened out three or four times as wide as 
the passage I had come through. Before I could make 
up my mind on the switch that best suited me, my eye 
caught sight of a bare lookin’ spot that lay surrounded 
by a thin growth of sumach sprouts about six feet beyond 
the plum tree. All at once it flashed over me that I 
might make an important discovery, and I made a thor- 
ough examination of the spot, which I settled in my 
mind was a grave. At first I believed it to be one of the 
numerous graves where some ambushed settler was re- 
ported to have been killed, either by the Indians back 
in the early days or by bushwhackers during the war, 
but on close examination I found that there was no sign 
of an elevation above the level of the ground. The 
grave, if grave it was, was as flat as a board, which led 
me to believe that some victim of treachery had been 
thrown in a rough hole and covered up, and the ground 
leveled down to hide the traces. There was only about 
half of the surface exposed by the clay, as was evidenced 
by the edges being sunken, not a great deal, but enough 
to show that it was a grave and no mistake. This led 
me to believe that it contained the remains of your 
father, for you know you have often said you expected 
to find his grave in some out of the way place where he’d 
been murdered and robbed.” 

Jack here stopped his narrative again, and when, 
after a moment’s deathlike silence in the room, he did 
not resume it, Clayton concluded he had done. He 


THE GRAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. 


75 


raised his eyes to Jack’s expectant gaze. “Jack, ” he 
said, in a sorrowful, tremulous tone, “I believe with 
you that you have found the grave of my father. All 
the evidence we have in hand point to it, while the 
character of those we have suspicioned is such that no 
one will doubt our proof, which we will soon be able to 
unfold by an exhumation of the grave you have ac- 
cidentally discovered. Wait till things get settled a 
little and we have more time, we will, under cover of 
some dark night, seek out and exhume the remains, after 
' which we will determine, if it lays in our power, whose 
remains it is that lay under that mysterious spot. Now, 
boys, let us get our minds on the business in hand for 
the present. I feel as though this was not all the 
evidence that we are to find before we make the -pro- 
posed exhumation. 


CHAPTER III. 


THE ARCH VILLAIN. 

The picturesque, romantic vales of the Ozarks were 
settled along in the forties, principally by Southern peo- 
ple. Hence nearly all of the dwellings that nestled 
snugly against the base of the mountains were modeled 
after the old Southern slave-holding class of the states 
East of the Mississippi. Sometimes a Northerner East- 
ern man settled there among them, but he seldom ever 
had the house remodeled after the fashion of his section. 
Usually the Northerners were what would be termed in 
the vocabulary of the region as “struck” on the old 
fashioned plantation dwellings, and never molested them 
unless they were sadly in need of repairs. Old fashioned, 
high shouldered chimneys, broad, cool porches, some- 
times matted with vines, a yard studded with beautiful, 
tall, straight poplars and cedars, and a plank fence sur- 
rounding the whole made a habitation that any one would 
be likely to be satisfied with. About all that the houses 
as a rule needed was a fresh coat of paint, and that was 
merely a matter of indifference and neglect. 

In one of these little valleys, a tributary of the 
James River, and about three miles from that stream, lay 
the home of Hart Emerson. We will not attempt a 

(76) 



They saw there lying dead their old schoolmate, Fannie Benton 





THE ARCH VILLAIN. 


79 


lengthy description of the place, for it was entirely out 
of keeping with the other places one sees in the region. 
There was an air of neglect about it that contrasted 
strongly with the others along the road that skirted the 
base of the hills. Yet for all that it was a place unsur- 
passed for beauty, requiring only a small amount of labor 
to transform it into a wonderfully enticing feast for the 
eye. The house stood at the forks of the road, the left 
hand leading up the mountain to the nearest point on the 
railroad, while the other- one meandered up the valley, 
which made a sharp turn there, finall}', after about five 
hours travel, leading the traveler into the city of Spring- 
field, with its roar and jam and push of mighty Western 
energy. Altogether it would seem to a keen observer 
that one who had been fortunate enough to possess this 
estate was very foolish to abandon it for the dangerous 
profession of outlawry, for this was the boyhood home 
of the noted freebooter who had made his name a terror 
throughout the Ozark region, and whom every one who 
knew his history wondered at for his fierce disposition. 

Well, some said one thing and some another thing 
about Tom Alton and his stepbrother, Hart Emerson, 
but they all agreed that Alton’s career was a source of 
much' worriment to Hart, who stoutly denied that the 
outlaw was his step-brother, whom, he said, he could 
prove was dead. He averred that he was killed in the 
battle of Pea Ridge, and a few believed his assertion, 
but the majority asserted that Tom Alton was turning 


86 


THE ARCH VILLAIN. 


out just like they expected. They based their assertion 
on the lenient conduct of his mother, ^who allowed him 
to read all the trashy literature he wanted to, and young 
Alton had got into several bad scrapes before he finally 
took it into his head to join the army and fight for the 
perpetuity of the Union. As for Hart Emerson, he 
showed no inclination to risk his life on the battle field, 
and remained at home with his father to protect and care 
for young Alton’s property. Still there was no suspicion 
among the neighbors such as Jack Dalton had given vent 
to, for young Emerson was very much respected by a 
part of the people of the community. Barring a few 
who believed him guilty of the murder of a young girl 
named Benton, the neighbors all looked up to him as a 
leader of country society, and they set it down that his 
negligence of the place was due to grief at the sad piight 
of his father and the suspicions regarding the murder of 
his former sweetheart, Fannie Benton. 

One night a party of young men were out hunting 
and, coming down into the valley, they came out on a 
little promontory that jutted out into the valley to the 
creek bed. Here the path that led to the school house 
ran over the little bench, and as it was a dark night the 
boys had to carry a lantern. The one that carried it 
stumbled over something he at first supposed to be one 
of the dogs, but as no howl of pain escaped the object 
he determined to investigate. Turning the lantern so its 
rays would fall obliquely upon the object, he stooped 


THE ARCH VILLAIN. 


8l 


and looked. The next instant he started backward with 
an exclamation of horror, and his companions, hearing 
his cry, paused and turned back, indulging in many jest- 
ing remarks. But their jests soon ceased when they saw 
there lying dead their schoolmate Fannie Benton. , 

Well, the coroner’s jury rendered the verdict that the 
girl had met her death by strangulation at the hands of 
Hart Emerson. Coroner’s juries, you know, only seek 
the mode of death and point to the person most likely 
to have committed the deed, but their verdicts are not, 
of course, to be taken as final. Emerson stoutly denied 
his guilt from the start, and was heard to remark that he 
was going to clear himself if it took every penny he 
possessed. And it was evident that he meant what he 
said, for he immediately tried to sell the plantation, but 
as most of the set there doubted him having a clear 
title they hesitated about buying. The reader already 
knows how he tried to dispose of it to Jason Palliser. 

Isaac Benton thoroughly believed in his guilt, and as 
his definition of the Scriptures was “an eye for an eye 
and a tooth for a tooth,” he had done his best to hang 
Hart Emerson, but Hart was seemingly not much 
worried at Benton’s refusal to continue to associate with 
him. So time went on apace, and Hart grew more and 
more indifferent to the beliefs and disbeliefs of his neigh- 
bors. 

Now, Hart Emerson had an old bachelor uncle living 
at Springfield who was very fond of society, and he had 


82 


THE ARCH VILLAIN. 


wrung his nephew into the elite circle of that place. 
This quite turned the young man’s head, as appearances 
indicated, and he was away up there much of his time. 
The two trusty negro servants that had been the property 
of the elder Alton were ‘ entrusted with the care of the 
poor lunatic that was confined within the rocky walls of 
a small stone hut that stood over in a little brushy hollow 
out of sight of the road. The hut stood on the South 
slope, nearly at the foot. A few feet from the floor, 
about ten inches long by two in width, was a little win- 
dow. This enabled the two servants to hand in food to 
the poor man confined therein, and it may be added that 
they hurried away as fast as their legs could carry them 
after this performance, and they would never have been 
any the wiser if their own mother had been confined 
therein instead of their master’s father. 

The old couple that kept house for Hart never pre- 
tended to meddle with his business. No, they were 
having too easy a time and were afraid of being fired if 
they meddled. 

Hart Emerson sat in his room writing — writing with a 
sort of nervous sweep and a cynical half-cowed expres- 
sion on his face. Several sheets of paper lay on the 
table, and it was evident that he was satisfied with the 
writing, for he did not tear any of the sheets up, nor 
did he pause in his writing, but kept steadily on as 
though he was in a desperate hurry. Sheet after sheet 
was laid aside and another one taken and went over in 


THE ARCH VILLAIN. 


83 


the same manner till at last he seemed satisfied that he 
had written enough. Uttering a deep sigh of relief, he 
shoved back his chair, took out his watch, examined its 
face and putting it back, drew the chair up again and 
commenced perusing the sheets. 

“Well, I guess that will do,” he muttered aloud. 
“ Oh pshaw. [t worries me to think there are so many 
people in the world that would as soon see me out of it 
as not. Nay, there are those who would kill me if they 
knew — if they knew. Well, I’m not going to kick against 
the pricks any more, but just take things easy. This 
last act of mine seems to have stirred up a hornet’s nest. 
Well, let them go it, I don’t think that Hart Emerson 
will respond to the roll call this time.” 

This last was not said aloud. He relapsed into a 
brown study again, and sat for about ten minutes. Then 
he arose, and carefully folding the sheets together he 
placed them at the bottom of the huge, old fashioned 
iron bound trunk. Closing and locking the trunk, he 
put away the writing paper, pen and ink. This being 
done, he went to another trunk and took out a dark,'- 
purplish brown suit of clothes and proceeded to array 
himself therein. 

“If it wasn’t for my hopes of winning the fair Elsie,” 
he muttered, “I would leave this sin-blackened life and 
go elsewhere and begin anew. Oh, fond hopes, if it 
were not for you the world would be blank indeed. We 
Emersons always were considered a hard set. I wouldn’t 


84 


THE ARCH VILLAIN. 


be surprised to run across a manuscript like that I have 
just finished up there telling some very gruesome things 
about my uncle’s life. But those wistful brown eyes, so 
much like the others, seem to burn in my brain like two 
live coals of fire, and — well I hope that black imp of 
satan will be put out of the way, anyhow. It would be 
just like Carlton to swear a heavy oath against his life.” 

These thoughts were half uttered aloud in an ab- 
stracted manner, and an occasional nervous turning of 
the head, as though he expected some of his enemies to 
be at his elbow. Having finished his toilet, he went out 
in the kitchen. Taking a copious draught of water, he 
addressed the cook thus : 

‘‘ How long till dinner, Nancy V 

“About twenty minutes, I guess,” replied the woman 
without looking up. 

“Well, hurry it up. I’ve got to go to town this even- 
ing,” he remarked as he went out. 

Then he took his hat and went to the stables, where 
he found one of the negroes grooming his horse. The 
negro looked up as he opened the door, and Hart, beck- 
oning to him, said : 

“Come out here a minute, Roe, I want to talk with 
you.” 

The negro obeyed and came out. 

Taking him by the shoulder. Hart led him to the lot 
fence and leaning against it, he spoke again and said : 

“Now, Monroe, I want to instruct you in a little 


THE ARCH VILLAIN. 


85 


matter which is of the highest importance. You know 
I’ve always made a confident of you, and you have always 
carried out my wishes to the letter.” 

“Yes, sah,” responded the negro, his heart aglow 
with honest pride. 

“ Well, what I wanted to speak of was this : There 
is a secret I have kept these several years, and one which 
I could not carry to the grave. Don’t think that I am 
about to confess to the murder of my poor sweetheart. I 
am as innocent of that as you are. But it is another, 
more serious, matter that I am about to speak of. Do 
you remember the fall you and Jerry were away down at 
Forsyth visiting 

“Yes, sah, I does,” replied Roe, with a nod. 

“Well, that was the time it happened. While you 
were away a man came here who said he was looking for 
a location. My father saw him in Ozark and told him 
that I wanted to sell this plantation, and he came here 
to look it over. 

“ Now, Monroe, I never have hinted to you even that 
there was once a deadly feud between the Emersons and 
another family named Marston back there in the Cum- 
berland mountains. No, you say. Well, I thought not. 
You see it was this way: When two families fall out 
back there they generally settle it like the North and 
South did about you colored people. That is by force 
of arms. Well, sometimes one or both families are 
totally annihilated, but this time the law stepped in and 


86 


THE ARCH VILLAIN. 


sent the murderer of my uncle to the penitentiary for 
twenty years. Quite a number had been killed on both 
sides, and when the other side came to us and proposed 
peace we were glad to make any fair terms. 

“ Well, after a while the trouble broke out again, and 
this time I admit the fault was on our side. A hot 
headed young nephew of mine was the cause ot it, and 
fortunately for me and my father we had left there then 
and . thought that we were out of the scrimmage. My 
father was unaware that Jason Palliser, the man who 
came here to buy the place, was a member of the Mars- 
ton clan and had come here with the intention of killing 
us both. One night he and my father were coming from 
town and the man Palliser, when they had got to that 
bench up here, pulled out a big revolver and told my 
father that he was a member of the Marston gang and 
for him to say his prayers quick as he was going to kill 
him. 

“ But my father had been in such tight places as that 
before and knew exactly how to get out of them. Reach- 
ing over, he knocked the pistol from his hand, but toh is 
surprise the man pulled another one, or was about to, 
but before he could cock it my father had drawn his 
own pistol and shot him dead. I was down here at 
the house and was sitting up reading when I heard 
the report. I grabbed my hat and a lantern and 
started briskly up the road. On and on I went up 
the tiresome slope till at last I discerned some 
dark objects in the road. I found my father bending 
over the prostrate form of the man, and I shall never 


THE ARCH VILLAIN. 


87 


forget the awful stare that was in his eyes as I held the 
lantern up to his face. It did not take a second glance 
to tell me that the light of reason was fast fading out, 
and I immediately begged him for an explanation. He 
told me the same as I have told you.” 

Hart paused to note the effect of his story upon the 
negro, and as that individual was too astonished to speak, 
he continued, after a brief period of silence : 

“Now, Monroe,” — this name had a magical effect 
upon the negro, and to call him that would be to make 
him doubly your friend and servant, — “I have written 
out a full description of this affair, together with the in- 
formation of what became of the man’s body. That I 
never could find out from that day to this. This infor- 
mation I want sent to Mr. Clayton Palliser, and I will 
address it to him on my return, as I have no envelope 
that is large enough to hold it. But remember, it is only 
in case I meet with an accident and should happen to die 
of a sudden that I want you to see that it is sent. 

“ This young man, Clayton Palliser, came out here 
in order to ferret out the mystery of his father’s disap- 
pearance, and in order, as I suppose, to be close to the 
scene of the disappearance, he settled near here with his 
mother and two brothers, and ever since they have been 
trying to obtain a clew. But I don’t think he has struck 
one yet, or young Palliser. brainy and well posted as he 
is, would have run the mystery down by this time. He 
has been very friendly with me, but I have not been 


88 


THE ARCH VILLAIN. 


friendly in return for I sometimes think he suspects me 
of having murdered Jason Palliser, and fear he is only 
trying to get the advantage of me to kill me just as 
Jason Palliser did my father. 

“Now, then, I will change the subject a little, as I 
want to talk a little about your old master, Tom Alton. 
You have no doubt heard a great deal about him since he 
went away, although you have never seen him. That is 
one thing I would like to warn you of, for I know that 
you colored folks are hard to deceive in an ocular sense, 
but when you hear things you do not see, then it is pos- 
sible that you may be deceived. Now, you have heard 
two conflicting stories about your old master, my step 
brother, have you not r 

“Yes, sah.” replied Roe, his bulky form heaving with 
excitement, his eyes set in a rigid stare. 

“One of them is that he is dead — killed in the battle 
of Pea Ridge,” suggested Hart. 

“Yes, sah.” 

“And the other is that he is the leader of the Fox 
Valley outlaws, the Alton gang, as it is called.” 

“Yes, sah,” replied Roe, wondering which one of the 
reports was true. 

Hart always was prompt in a conversation, and if he 
was asked a troublesome question he had no difficulty in 
framing a reply without hesitation. His mind was com- 
pletely swayed by evil tendencies, and what he told the 


THE ARCH VILLAIN. 


89 


negro about his old master was not devoutly believed by 
himself. 

*‘Now, Monroe, you are pretty shrewd yourself. I 
want to know just what you believe. I mean which one 
of the reports do you think is correct 

But Monroe was wise in the wisdom of his race, and 
would not vouchsafe any opinion. He felt sure that 
Hart knew positively, or thought he did — that one or the 
other of the reports was true, and yet he knew enough 
of the strange coincidences of life to assure him that 
Hart might be mistaken after all. Hart resumed in a 
positive tone : 

“We have positive proof that he was killed in battle. 
I have talked with men who fought by his side in the 
battle of Pea Ridge and saw him fall. Afterward, as 
they were forced back, they saw him lying dead with a 
bullet hole through his heart.” 

“ Then he’s dead, sah, do you think.?” asked Monroe, 
and there was a note of sorrow in his voice. He had been 
so fond of his young master that to be told that he was 
dead, whether he had ocular proof of it or not, was 
enough to stir his African soul to its depths. Of the two 
reports concerning his former /naster, he hardly knew 
which one of them he wanted to believe, as both of them 
had their good and bad side to them. 

“But I want to know what you think about it. Roe.?” 
asked Hart. 

The boy was in deep thought and did not answer. 


go 


TPIE ARCH VILLAIN. 


The wily schemer knew well how to play upon the emo- 
tions and fancies of the colored race as well as the white 
people who were not shrewd enough to read his thoughts 
and intentions. That was what made him resist the ap- 
proaches of Clayton Palliser, for although Hart was not 
as harmless as the dove, he was as wise as the serpent, 
and he instinctively guessed that Clayton’s reputation as 
a mind reader was not altogether without foundation. 

‘ ‘ Surely you cannot believe that your former master 
is a lawless ruffian and bold plunderer, do you, Monroe 
asked Hart. 

“No, sah,” responded the impressionable darkey, the 
light of conviction beaming in his eyes. 

“Then you must believe that he is dead,” assured 
Hart. “Indeed, what else can any of us believe.” 

“I doan doubt but what he’s dead, sah,” said Monroe 
in a sorrowful voice. 

“We all of us, no doubt, wish he was not, but as 
we have good proof of the fact that he is we may as 
well bear our loss in a philosophical way.” 

After dinner, while the negro, who was quite swelled 
up with the knowledge that he was in possession of an 
important secret, brought the horse. Hart gave him a 
few instructions. Then he packed a small valise, and 
mounted and rode away in the direction of Springfield. 





CHAPTER IV. 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 

At the mouth of the small creek on which the old 
Alton homestead lay was another one of those small 
plantations so common in the James valley, and this one 
was not in keeping with most of its neighboring planta- 
tions, which, like that of the Alton place, presented a 
more or less dilapidated appearance. The large planta- 
tions were a little in the minority in regard to numbers, 
and most all of them seemed to have a neglected appear- 
ance, although there were exceptions. This particular 
plantation that lay at the confluence of the little valley 
with that of the broad, romantic valley of the James, at 
this period had undergone a series of repairs. The 
fences had been rebuilt, the old fashioned worm fences 
being displaced by straight post and rail fences, the 
rickety old gates had been torn down and converted into 
kindling, while gates of the latest patent superceded 
them. The barn had had a few necessary repairs, while 
numerous other little improvements were noticeable, but 
the one most conspicuous to the passer-by was a new 
coat of paint on the old fashioned Southern dwelling. It 
stood above the road on a flat point surrounded by a 
profuse mixture of poplar, cedar and catawba trees and 

( 93 ) 


94 the ’ MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


clusters of rose bushes, the whole surrounded by the old 
plank fence, on the inside of which was a row of goose- 
berry bushes. Beneath the boughs of the yard trees 
were various kinds of seats constructed for the benefit of 
those who wished a nice, cool place to while away the 
hot summer days of inaction during the latter part of 
August, when all nature seems to sink into a quiet repose. 
The cliffs on the opposite side of the river, lined with a 
profusion of cedars, afforded a pleasant feast for the eye, 
inspiring one with a dreamy, reverential feeling as he 
lounged beneath the shade of the trees within the yard 
of the old Nash homestead. 

The Nash’s were counted among the leading citizens 
of the country, as they were a family of early settlers 
and owned the fine farm we have described, which was 
very fertile as well as it was well kept. The scenic 
beauty of the place was scarcely equalled by any of its 
neighbors, either above or below. Beyond the level 
stretch of smooth meadows next the river bank 
stood an old plantation, the residence of one of the 
neighbors, with its quaint old architecture plainly sil- 
houetted by the background of the dark woods that lined 
the bank of the stream, while glimpses of the water 
could be obtained through the openings that now and 
then pierced the woods where the bank was low and the 
stream fordable. Still beyond that, on the far side of 
the stream, another house, which, like that of the Nash 
home, had received a new application of bright colored 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


95 


paint, could be seen through a gap in the timber where 
there was a ford, where the neighbors desiring short cuts 
were wont to cross. Adding to the scenic beauty thus 
described were the towering, cedar-lined cliffs and the 
clay bottomed road that began the ascent of the moun- 
tains far back from the terminus of the cliffs in the midst 
of a dense thicket of cedars. 

On the morning of the appointed meeting at Wash- 
burn’s prairie the Nash family, which consisted only of 
Bill Nash, his wife and his sister Emily, a solemn visaged, 
brown eyed little woman of perhaps twenty-five years of 
age, were all assembled at the usual hour in the dining 
room. The Nash’s, like all the other inhabitants of the 
region, were not in the habit of keeping late hours, 
as it was generally the custom to strive for the outdoing 
of the neighbors in the matter of early rising. Then it 
seemed as though the old portion of the inhabitants, 
which were but few at this day, they having been gath- 
ered to their fathers one by one till only a few remained, 
had been wont to daily preach the old adage of ‘ ‘ early 
to bed and early to rise, make one healthy, wealthy and 
wise,” until they had instilled it into their offspring as a 
part of their training. The Nash’s, however, had always 
been punctual in this regard, but they had risen on this 
particular morning a little earlier than was their custom. 
There was a subdued silence this morning as they gath- 
ered around the board, however, and the usual, cheerful 
flow of talk was conspicuous by its absence. The face 


96 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


of Emily showed evident signs of deep sorrow and a 
stamp of recent emotional conflict, while Mrs. Nash, as 
she seated herself, also betrayed a wistful, sorrowful light 
in her eyes, no doubt from emotional interest in that of 
her sister-in-law. Women as a rule, apparently, are as 
deeply moved by the sorrows of another one of their sex 
as the one to whom the actual sorrow belongs, and what- 
ever it was that had moved Emily Nash to an emotional 
display, her brother’s wife, who was very fond of her, 
truly and deeply sympathized with her. The Nash family 
being small, as no children save the brother and sister 
had survived, was bound together in a close bond 
of affection. Bill with fatherly interest, as he was several 
years the senior of his sister, had assumed guardianship 
over her, giving special interest to all her desires, watch- 
ing with close interest the intellectual powers develop 
with great rapidity, till at last the young lady had gradu- 
ated, and after a short rest from her mental labors began 
teaching the country schools. Bill was very fond and 
very proud of her, but his nature being of the worldly 
type, although he was kind and generous, he could not 
see beneath all the wonderful intellectual powers a sub- 
strata of tender emotion and romance. And as Bill was 
very irascible in his temper when anything of a disgrace- 
ful nature presented itself, his weak point had often been 
tried by his sister in regard to a certain attachment she 
had formed for a certain man whom it will take some 
length of time to describe. 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


97 


Emily had spent a sleepless night. Since the recent 
development of the increased volume and boldness of the 
lawless depredations that with one accord the inhabitants 
believed the notorious Tom Alton to be the head and 
nerve center of, Miss Nash had evinced a restless, 
emotional anxiety. Another periodical attack of crime 
was convulsing the country, and many were the wrathful 
epithets hurled a the son of the old planter who had, 
according to old settler’s lore, been ruined by the lenient 
treatment of his widowed mother, who allowed him to 
grow up without any training in the rudiments of civilized 
life. Back in the old anti-bellum days, when the old 
valley settlers were enjoying a season of unwonted pros- 
perity, young Alton, in common with a great many other 
scions of wealthy families, had evinced a tendency for 
lawlessness by getting into numerous adventurous scrapes 
which the settlers ascribed to the absorption of flash 
literature, and which the social and financial influence of 
his family always got him out of. Although a popular 
favorite with his youthful, impressionable companions, 
and also with the young ladies of a romantic tempera- 
ment, young Tom did not evince a desire to justify his 
many lawless but comparatively light acts, for it was 
then considered the height of fashion to do something 
slightly beyond the pale of the law and be fined there- 
for. To hunt, and ride, and drink, to fight and quarrel 
over politics and various other subjects too numerous to 
mention, to spend the days when home duties did not 


98 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


demand their attention, in loafing about town, and then 
ride home by the light of the moon or stars, making the 
welkin ring with emitted yells of pure defiance of God, 
"man and beast, seemed to be the chief occupation of the 
reckless young mountaineers. And young Tom Alton, 
not desiring to be considered a nonentity, did with a 
whim seldom equalled, his full share of these half inno- 
cent pastimes when not in the meshes of some of the 
handsome belles of the home region. Many times had 
he fallen in love, and as many more times the fall had 
not bruised him any on account of the shallowness. 

But old father time was spinning out the years, and 
with every turn of his kaleidoscope he showed many 
people who had prophesied certain things that their 
clairvoyant powers were null by a direct reversal of their 
prophecy. Some of the acquaintances of young Alton 
predicted that his faculties of love were small and cold 
and that he would never love deeply. Bye and bye, 
when he was beginning to believe their assertions him- 
self, and when he had attained his majority and was 
trying to efface the memory of his youthful misdeeds and 
foolish fancies, he discovered an aching void in his heart. 
A season of listless boredom ensued, during which he 
began the absorption of a new and better type of litera- 
ture, which was calculated to elicit all that was noble or 
ignoble in a man’s nature. We refer to the anti-slavery 
literature that was being circulated throughout the land 
a few years before the war. 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


99 


But one day the young man roused himself from this 
lethargic absorption of the political views of the leading 
lights of the anti-slavery movement. He was becoming 
tired of his self-imposed confinement, and as the great 
political upheaval was waxing stronger, and he had been 
thoroughly converted to the views of the anti’s, he be- 
thought him that he would bestir himself among the 
neighbors to ascertain whether they had been as deeply 
impressed as himself. Heretofore he had remained for 
the most of the time shut up in his room, and nothing 
that transpired round about his home seemed to interest 
him. Not even the announcement by a juvenile darkey 
that his favorite saddle horse had seriously injured one 
of his legs in his wild gambols, or that the hounds had 
started a deer up the bench above the graveyard, could 
tempt him to give up his literary envelopment. 

“Doan no wat kin be the mattah with Marsa Tom 
heah lately,” was the usual comment of the black boy. 
“He jist stay all day long in him room an’ won’t cum 
out fer nuffin. ” 

But one day the little black was surprised to see him 
emerge without any solicitation, and then as the other 
members of the household were ignorant of anything he 
did after he entered his own sanctum, they began to 
question him concerning his conspicuous long habitation 
of the house. 

The first place he visited was the Nash plantation, 
some few miles below, and young Alton had not ventured 


L.cfC. 


lOO 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


there with any other than political intentions, until he 
was aware that he was in the presence of a pretty, 
solemn faced, brown haired girl. He had not seen 
Emily Nash for some time, as she had been away at the 
Springfield High school, during which time she had 
developed from an awkward half formed and homely 
young girl into a beautiful young lady. Tom instantly 
discovered that the element of love in his nature was not 
dead, but only slumbering, and he fell head over ears in 
love with Emily before he took his departure, and when, 
after a brief courtship, he discovered on confessing his 
love that he had always been her ideal hero, he was 
more in love than ever. 

This happy state of affairs continued fora few months 
and then the war cloud overspread the land and the great 
political volcano was soon sending forth its streams of 
destroying lava, bringing not only death and destruction 
but division ; division not only of the Nation, but of 
families and kindred as well. 

Tom had been wary enough to feel of the political 
pulse of his neighbors before expressing himself, and 
knowing the Nash character he found, on a careful ex- 
amination, that they were rabid in their denunciation of 
abolition schemes. Therefore, no one of his neighbors 
or kinsmen knew of his political sentiments until he had 
declared for the Union when the news of the beginning 
of the struggle became ratified. While a great many 
who were now slaveholders espoused the same cause that 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


lOI 


Alton did, but very few of his own class followed him 
into the ranks of those who wore the blue. We say 
followed because the others having been repressed by 
popular sentiment had not dared to brave the wrath of 
their fellow citizens till young Alton announced one day 
in a short speech that he was going to fight for the old 
flag, and gave his reasons for so doing. After that the 
others took courage and announced themselves in a 
similar way. 

And the upshot of all this was that the Nash’s turned 
against him ; his mother, after she recovered from the 
shook, attempted to quell his newly acquired sentiments 
and positive demonstration by a threat of disinheritance, 
and after a serious quarrel with his fiancee he rode away 
to the army with those of like view amid the irate and 
furious epithets then in vogue. His step brother. Hart 
Emerson, pretending to sympathize with his views, had 
feigned an attack of sore eyes as an excuse for not going 
with him, and no one but Hart knew that the inflamed 
appearance of the eyes was produced by a certain drug 
well calculated for the purpose. 

Now, it is a common failing of human nature, that 
they never know the value of anything they possess until 
they lose it, especially through their own fault. This 
well befitted the case of Miss Nash, who had dismissed 
her lover in a fit of spontaneous political rage, which she 
afterwards repented of. When she had calmed her 
ruffled feelings and recovered from the tumultuous flow 


102 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


of ire that convulsed her, she admitted to the first of 
those who broached the subject to her that she was 
wrong, that her lover had as good a right to his opinions 
as anybody else. Indeed, she compared, after her 
romantic impulses had superseded her return to equipoise, 
the brave, honorable action of her lover to that of Hart 
Emerson, who lingered and loitered around the old place 
long after the drug that gave the deceitful appearance 
had been eradicated and all blemishes had disappeared. 
But the war had come and gone and the aspect of things 
had been changed. There was a constant influx of new 
settlers arriving and settling up the still remaining tracts 
of fertile land ; bold freebooters were pillaging unharmed, 
and the crimes and outrages committed were a source of 
shame to the old portion of settlers. The strong bodied, 
half illiterate, God-defying, rugged featured, whisky guz- 
zling haters of civilization who haunted the wild moun- 
tain and preyed upon the fruits of others’ toil, were, 
according to popular belief, led and directed by the son 
of one of thef old pioneer planters, of which the semi- 
civilized region was so proud. 

The repressed silence of the meal continued unabated, 
unbroken to the end, except a few subdued remarks 
relating to the wants of those present asking each other 
to pass them certain articles of food. Bill, noticing the 
emotional traces on the faces of the two women, made 
several attempts to speak, but some unseen power seemed 
to bind his speech, and whatever he was going to say 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


103 


never escaped his lips. He was not ignorant of the true 
cause, however, for more than once there had been a 
spirited dispute in regard to the continued attachment of 
Emily for the man who was supposed to be the kkig of 
the Ozark bandit league, whose headquarters were in the 
wild region we have described. 

Breakfast over, the three rose from their seats, and 
while the two women were bustling around making 
preparations for rearranging the room. Bill opened the 
east door of the dining room and looked out on the 
beautious morning scene. The red glow of the approach- 
ing sun cast a wierd, fantastic volume of light over the 
gorgeously bedecked mountains, with their voluminous 
sides covered with a natural growth of oak, poplar, cedar 
and hickory, with their foliage of different hues contrast- 
ing well with the scenic beauty of the valley below. The 
river, wherever discernable, glowed like a freshly polished 
mirror under the shadow of the mountains, the foliage of 
the belt of timber that lined its banks having a deeper 
tint added to them by the red glare of the sun. The 
quaint old plantation house next the river bank looked 
more quaint than ever in the glow of the morning, while 
a rank volume of smoke emitting from the mouth of the 
capacious old chimney and flowing upwards on the morn- 
ing air, caused Bill to turn in the doorway with his back 
to the casement and remark in a dry, matter of fact 
tone : 

“Guess the weather is going to continue dry and 
warm from the way the smoke goes up. ” 


104 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


“ That will be all the better for finishing the corn 
harvesting, won’t it, Billie asked Mrs. Nash quietly. 

“Yes, I think so myself,” assented Bill in a restless, 
chafing tone, “but I have other business to attend to at 
present that I can’t well postpone.” 

A dead silence of a moment’s duration ensued, and 
then as Nash turned once more for a view of the mingled 
handiwork of man and nature, he assumed a belligerent 
mien. He had been expecting a remark in regard to his 
man hunting expedition, and did not relish it, although 
he had fortified himself with what he considered sound, 
logical arguments. But the two women also did not 
relish any war of words, for they knew that it would only 
result in making what they considered a bad matter 
worse. 

“ I wonder why Hart don’t come on,” remarked Bill 
presently. ‘ ‘ I have been expecting his arrival for more 
than an hour. ” 

Poor deluded Bill, what a poor judge of human 
nature you are, with your mind surfeited by material 
objects of worldly ambitions and illusions. You can’t 
see under the veil of outside polish that envelopes the 
dark interior of your neighbor yet, many times as he has 
deceived you. Many is the time he has thrown dust in 
your eyes to prevent you discovering some hypocritical 
movement of his, many the time he has laughed in his 
sleeve to think how easily you were duped. You don’t 
know yet that his wily schemes for his own self interest 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


105 


have worked well just because the majority of his neigh- 
bors were like yourself, unable to penetrate his disguise. 
This is consistency with a vengeance, is it not ? You 
need not tarry this morning waiting for the appearance 
of Hart Emerson, your eyes will never again rest upon 
that animated lump of clay till the trumpet of the Arch- 
angel awakens the dead from their long sleep. 

^‘William.” 

Nash turned again with an inquiring glance. “What 
now r he asked, in a slightly petulant tone, as he braced . 
his arms against the casements and stretched his full six 
feet in the doorway. Bill was a good type of the pic- 
turesque Southern planter, with his tall, long frame and 
reddish brown mustache setting well in a rugged type of 
features, out of which peered a pair of earnest, kindly 
blue eyes. 

It was Emily that spoke, addressing him. 

“Promise me one thing before you go, won’t you, ■ 
Willie.^” she said in a husky but firm tone, as she drew 
a chair before her and braced one foot thereon. 

“That depends on what it is,” replied Bill, with an 
irate gleam in his eyes. “You ain’t going to detain me 
by any useless arguments, I hope.” 

“Nobody said anything about argument, Bill,” she 
answered, in a half sorrowful, half irate tone. She 
always called him William, Willie or Bill, according to 
the mood that she was in when addressing him. Bill 
never pretended to notice the change of the name, but 


I06 THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


it was not always that he gave special attention. Fre- 
quently there were times when the women talked to him 
• about various topics when he would have his mind en- 
grossed in other matters and he would reply only in 
monosyllables. 

Emily let this shaft fly in order to prepare him for 
the reception of her plan. “ I don’t want to stir up any 
unpleasant feelings, brother,” she resumed, assuming a 
milder tone. “ I only want you to promise me that if 
you should happen to run across him, if you should per- 
chance engage him in combat, and should happen to get 
the advantage, spare him for my sake, won’t you, 
Willie r 

Nash gave a snort of irate impatience and took a step 
or two toward his sister, his face clouded with a fretful 
glow of wrath. But on taking another glance at Emily 
and noticing the haunting sorrow in her eyes, and the 
humble, tearful expression on the pretty face he stopped. 
Now he was half ashamed of the irate demonstration 
and drew back again, leaning against the casement. He 
was melted, refined and softened into a tender sympathy 
by that humble, pleading look. 

“ You seem to be sure that it is he,” he said. 

“Not that I am positive that it is,” replied Emily, 
brightening up at her brother’s sudden change, “but I 
am confident that if it is he it is all my fault. That is why 
I am solicitous for his safety. Do you promise me, 
Willie r 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


107 


Bill seemed to be quite converted to her opinion, but 
man like he was slow to admit it. He reflected a mo- 
ment, during which time Emily stood impatiently await- 
ing his answer, and half doubting the success of her 
plan. 

“Perhaps you are right, Emily,” he assented present- 
ly, assuming a kinder tone and expression, “I promise 
you that I will spare him if he should fall in my power, 
not only for your sake but for the sake of the old days 
when we were all so happy together.” 

“And there speaks the Willie of old days, too,” re- 
plied Emily, coming forward in an exultant glow of ten- 
der emotion and drawing his face down to her own and 
kissing him. Then she stepped back, exclaiming: “ Oh 
God, I pray to thee day and night restore us from our 
lost, ruined condition, restore once more the old happy 
days, destroy the lurking devils that have divided us and 
destroyed our happiness.” 

“Amen !” echoed Bill, solemnly. “ God grant that 
your prayer be fulfilled.” 

So Bill Nash, after waiting for Hart Emerson to put 
in an appearance as long as he thought was necessary, 
with a parting salute to his wife and sister standing on 
the broad porch to see him off, wrapped his overcoat 
tightly around him and strode rapidly down the path 
leading to the stables. Very soon he had curried and 
saddled his horse, and leading him out into the road he 
mounted and rode away, slowly at first, while he knew 


io8 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


the eyes of his loved ones were upon his retreating 
figure, then when out of sight he put spurs to the met- 
tlesome steed and dashed briskly away across the valley. 

Now, while the mountaineers are leaving their homes 
and traveling toward the scene of the proposed meeting, 
it would be well for us to describe for the readers’ benefit 
a little incident that took place at the town of Ozark, 
which lay like some ancient baronial castle, perched on 
the side of the mountain, a beacon light of civilization 
in the wilderness where the settlers were wont to con- 
gregate forthe purpose of obtaining needful home supplies, 
swapping horses and exchanging news upon the subject 
of agriculture and outlawry, the principal topic then in 
vogue. Other modes of passing the time were invented, 
such as playing marbles, pitching horse shoes and target 
shooting. The latter, however seemed to be the principal 
one of recent invention, for the young settlers of the 
masculine persuasion were no sooner out of knee breeches 
and had laid aside the implements of childish pastimes, 
among which was always a toy pistol with which they 
shot in imaginative hilarity many legendary ogres and 
other goblins of the invention of ancient lore, than they 
sought and obtained a real pistol that did more than 
make a noise. With these they practiced almost daily, 
now that there was a necessity for it, for the state of 
affairs was getting so that one was justified in having 
them ready for use. 

The streets of the little mountain village were rapidly 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


109 


filling with a throng of excited men and riotous boys, 
some sitting on their horses talking to little groups that 
were standing, while others stood in little knots about the 
hitch rock talking and gesticulating, while others congre- 
gated in front of the court house, filling the air with ex- 
cited shouts and vituperative mountain slang, giving vent 
to their long repressed animal spirits in a noisy demon- 
stration of excited wrath. A babel of irate voices of 
different pitches of tone, the heavy thud of hoofs as 
more men galloped through the streets and dismounted, 
the noisy clatter of feet on the rickety old sidewalk, and 
the general hurry and skurry of a busy day in town all 
manifested that there was something unusual transpiring. 
The merchants stood in their doors with half bewildered, 
expressions on their faces and dunned the passers for 
their debts, and asked them to trade, as the case pre- 
sented, while those who kept a stock of up-to-date fire- 
arms were kept busy waiting on the man hunting element, 
who determined not to be outstripped in the matter of 
weapons. As fast as they were dealt out the purchasers, 
after ordering a good supply of ammunition, would 
repair to an old field, some three hundred yards below 
the town, for the purpose of trying their new firearms in 
a free-for-all target practice. The old field, although 
under fence, was not under cultivation. It was the 
former abode of an old negro who, by some chance or 
other, had obtained his freedom, but who died about a 
year before, leaving nothing to mark his earthly existence 


I lO 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


but the little old field in which stood next to the Western 
edge a small frame shanty. Here the men, young, mid- 
dle aged and old, came to watch the sport, the young 
men ruthlessly tearing the roof of the old shanty off for 
target boards. 

Very soon the fun began, and the welkin rang with 
the whip-like snaps of the new class of firearms, which 
were for the most part repeating rifles, a luxury some of 
them had long denied themselves on account of the high 
price. But the merchants, realizing that they would 
clear a good profit by cut prices and quick sales, seized 
upon the opportunity with avidity. The crowd steadily 
increased until the air became filled with the powder 
smoke which drifted lazily off down the mountain and 
formed a veil over the road which ran in serpentine 
curves down the steep, rocky slope. 

The smoke and timber together disguised the ap- 
proach of two men on horseback. 

The excited crowd did not notice them until they were 
in close proximity, and then the two men stopped their 
horses and cast furtive glances at the assemblage. Some 
of the mountaineers were clustered around two young 
men who had just arrived from the direction of the town, 
and they all seemed to be firing a volley of excited ques- 
tions at one of them, who was strenuously endeavoring 
to satisfy them all. The other young man chipped in 
and tried to help his companion answer the questions all 
he could. 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


Ill 


The distance between the road and the target ground 
was only about twenty yards. The group of young men 
stood back a little way towards the road to keep out of 
the way of the whizzing bullets that hummed in the still 
autumn air like a swarm of bees as the rifles cracked and 
the smoke drifted. A lapse of perhaps a minute ensued 
after the appearance of the two men who had not been 
noticed by the little concourse who were under a heavy 
strain of excitement. 

Presently they were startled by a shrill voice behind 
them emitting in defiant tones the following pointed 
question : 

“ Hello, boys, gittin’ ready for another picnic, air ye? 
I guess yer jist practicin’ up so ye wont make any bauble 
next time, ain’t ye ?” 

The group turned their gaze toward the road, some 
of them recognizing by his voice before they did by their 
ocular senses the noted tough and criminal, Milt Harper. 

He was a low, thick set, swarthy complexioned, dark 
eyed man, with thick, shaggy eyebrows, black hair and 
thick prominent nose, and was smooth shaven at this 
time, which gave him a meaner appearance than usual. 
A small mouth with thin set lips was the only redeeming 
feature of his visage, and at times they would close to- 
gether so tight that they assumed a harsh appearance. 
But the one prominent feature of his anatomy were his 
large, flabby looking ears. 

He was dressed in the usual garb of the dwellers in 


I 12 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


the mountain fastnesses, with a pistol belt strapped 
around his waist and overcoat strapped to the hind part 
of the saddle. A pair of saddle pouches protruded from 
under the overcoat, and the horn handle of a hunting 
knife from under his coat. 

The reader has not guessed who the two young men 
are who had just been surrounded and pelted by the 
little concourse with such a rapid fire of questions. If 
he or she has not, we had better inform them before we 
relate what happened after the outlaw began his banter. 
It was Clayton and Jack. They had ridden into town 
with Ike and Jeff about the time that the shooting com- 
menced, and when they had found out what was trans- 
piring at the little old field they had started thither 
without delay. The time for attending the meeting at 
Washburn’s prairie was yet an hour off, and as the dis- 
tance was only about five miles up country toward the 
state line, they knew there was plenty of time. 

“ By the great jumpin’ Jehoshaphat, you’re gittin* 
sassy, ain’t ye. Milt exclaimed a rawboned, rugged and 
red faced Irishman. “Be the shamrock that grew on 
me great grandfather’s grave, I say now, what kind o’ 
milk are ye suckin’ now ? What brave man’s baist have 
ye roasted and ate 

A spasmodic guffaw of laughter greeted this sally, as 
the Irishman was a noted wag, who often gave gratis ex- 
hibitions of his witty humor. Encouraged thus, he con- 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


II3 


tinued, after the laughter had subsided enough to be 
heard : 

“ Now, Milty, if ye be as big as ye feel I’d advise ye 
to not waste any ammunition on this, yer opponents. If 
ye be anxious to get thim outen the way, jist thry me 
own plan wanst an’ ye’ll find it the easier way. Jist rear 
up on yer hin’ legs an’ come down on ’em cawhollop an’ 
smash ’em.” 

Another ringing peal of laughter convulsed the con- 
course and added fuel to the already kindled wrath of the 
object of mirth. Shouts of derision also were audible to. 
his auricular senses, and the dark, snaky eyes began to 
gleam with wolfish passion. The second round of laughter 
had subsided and given place to a derisive demonstration 
when he, evidently compelled to find an outlet for his 
wrath, shouted again and said : 

“That’s it, boys, laugh all ye kin. It’s the only con- 
solation you have, anyhow.” 

“ What do you mean by that, Milt ejaculated Jack 
Dalton, stepping a few paces toward the tough and 
assuming a threatening attitude. The balance of the 
crowd, fearing trouble, moved up too. The outlaw did 
not seem disconcerted by this sudden affront, but cried 
out boldly, while a triumphant expression overspread his 
countenance : 

“ I mean that as far as we are concerned we don’t 
care how much ye practice ye can’t scare us by yer noise. 
Couldn’t none of ye hit a steer ten steps from ye.” 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


II4 


“Pshaw, Milt, ” retorted Jack, “I could hit one of 
your ears as far as I could see it.” 

Harper, in a spirit of bravado, retorted back, thus 
incited no doubt by another spasm of laughter that con- 
vulsed the crowd : 

“ Bet ye a fiver ye can’t do it.” 

And before any of the bystanders could interfere Jack 
jerked his pistol from its holster and fired. A cry of pain 
escaped the outlaw, and he reeled in his saddle and would 
have fallen but for his companion, who braced him in 
the saddle with his gorilla-like arms, and when the shock 
was over the two rode on, while the concourse knew that 
Milt had not only lost his bet but his ear as well by the 
trickling of blood that was visible on the neck of the 
bully. 

This incident added another topic of conversation to 
those already inaugurated. When the concourse broke 
up and went back in town they learned that Milt had 
consulted a physician and had his wound dressed, but 
that he was not subdued by any means. Every one who 
knew him by sight as well as by reputation, knew that 
he would seek vengeance the first opportunity that offered 
itself. 

Well, let us now go to Washburn’s prairie and see 
what is transpiring there in the little rocky glade, which 
in reality it was. It lay at the base of one of the rocky 
peaks of the Ozarks, from the top of which other peaks 
and rugged curves of the range, among which were the 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


II5 


twin peaks of Big and Little Bald, loomed up in their 
• wild, savage grandeur like spokesmen for the other, who 
seemed tacitly saying to mankind: “You will have to 
strike many thousands of hard licks and go through a 
world of tribulation before you subdue us.” 

The settlers, had they been in the habit of studying 
the silent force of nature, might have acquiesced in this 
silent language -of the inanimate elevations of earth as 
they congregated there under the boughs of a majestic 
old oak that stood near the road that angled across the 
little prairie and discussed the drawbacks and serious 
checks to the progress and development of the country. 
The rocks, the woods, the wild dingles and deep moun- 
tain chasms seemed to be filled with the hosts of evil. 
The gathering clans even now, while viewing with con- 
scious pride and a sense of superiority their own numeri- 
cal strength, seemed to think that the boulders that 
studded the little grass-covered glade hid the forms of 
lurking devils from the anxious, furtive glances they be- 
stowed upon them. This was what gave the name of 
prairie to the little opening on account of the luxuriant 
growth of grass that nearly hid some of the smaller 
boulders from view. The old spreading oak under which 
the settlers were congregating was the place where the 
stock during the summer months had been wont to come 
for shelter from the heat of the day, and the grass was 
beaten down all around like an oasis in the desert. The 
opening, which was about a quarter of a mile square, was 


6 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


bounded on the North, East and South by the forest of 
scrubby, gnarled oak that was usually found near the 
peaks, while on the West side a thicket of hawthorn, 
sassafras, persimmon and a scattered growth of oak sap- 
lings hid from view the buildings of the Washburn ranch. 

About a quarter to ten o’clock, the appointed time, 
some fifteen settlers had arrived and sat around the old, 
oak talking in low, muffled tones, lest some lurking 
enemy be concealed behind the boulders in close prox- 
imity. Aside from the rocks that afforded good places 
for concealment, the grass which grew in places where 
the soil was rocky in bunches, also could easily hide the 
forms of dozens of men. A bad place for a secret coun- 
cil surely. But the regulators had seemed to evince a 
desire to begin operations near the settler’s residence that 
suffered the most at the hands of the freebooters in order 
to coagulate the wrongs of the entire region there where 
the most of the wrongs were inflicted, and add fuel to the 
flame already ablaze by having the Washburns recite the 
story of their long suffering forbearance and numerous 
repeated losses. The elder Washburn, who was some- 
what fond of rehearsing the incidents of the repeated 
raids, detailing every item thereof, was now reciting, the 
last one to his interested audience. 

Suddenly there was a swift clatter of hoofs resound- 
ing from both directions, and the road was suddenly filled 
with men on horseback, riding at a brisk canter from 
each side of the opening. The little group squatted be- 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


II7 


neath the boughs of the oak hastily rose to their feet, 
and Washburn, ceasing his story, rose also and looked 
up at the platoon of approaching regulators with a sigh 
of satisfied gladness that the time of retribution had 
arrived. The eyes of the long suffering settler eagerly 
devoured the fierce looking, swift moving, roughly clad 
forms of the mountaineers, who, with their broad 
brimmed hats, heavy flannel shirts of russet brown, navy 
blue and bright scarlet hues flashing from between the 
border of their coats, which hung open at the breast, and 
various colored trousers of rough, home-made yarns 
tucked in their boot tops, and rifles of both old and new 
patterns, presented a picturesque but formidable appear- 
ance. Very soon they had ridden up and formed a group 
in the road, exchanging greetings and remarks about 
arriving all at once. Those that came from the West 
were the denizens of a fertile tract lying back of the 
Washburn ranch some four miles in extent, and covered, 
except the openings made by the settlers, by a sparse 
growth of timber and a thick, unbroken growth of grass. 
Beyond that were other settlements far out of the range, 
but there were also a few from these among the new 
arrivals, and the faces of all present were lighted with 
evident pleasure at the discovery of the numerical 
strength of the band, for many new accessions from out- 
lying settlements were noticed and commended. The 
plan for action being already outlined, they had only to 
await the appearance of their leaders and the roll call 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


Il8 


before beginning operations. The outlined plan of action 
we will leave for a future chapter while we cull from the 
conversation of the regulators some hints on the charac- 
ters and ambitions of some of our actors. 

The first dash of new arrivals was very soon suc- 
ceeded by another one of smaller dimensions and more 
scattered than the first, but this time they all came from 
the East. The road made a circuit of some proportions 
around another small peak just before reaching the 
prairie, and then, emerging from the forest, shot out in 
a Southwesterly direction across the prairie. The new 
arrivals emerged from the forest into the opening in a 
slow, scattering string, and when the foremost of them 
had ridden up, the regulators recognized their leaders in 
the persons of Alex. Dalton, Jeff Carlton and Bill Nash. 

“You’re a little late, boys,” remarked Washburn, ex- 
amining his watch by the dazzling light of the warm No- 
vember sun. “ It’s a quarter past now.” 

“Well, we got stirred up a little down there at the 
town,” remarked Dalton, riding close up to Washburn. 

“What was it.?” inquiied Washburn. 

Then, while the rest of the crowd was in uproarious 
conversation and those that did not answer to the roll 
call were being noted, Dalton related the incident of 
Milt Harper losing his bet, with many ejaculations of 
praise for the pluck and marksmanship of his son. 

Jack, who with Clayton and several others rode up 
behind Alex, and the other leaders, answered to his name 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


II9 


and then gave his attention to an exchange of remarks 
between Washburn and his father. 

When Dalton had finished his recital and Washburn 
had vouchsafed his opinion concerning the episode, Jack 
and Clayton both listening, heard Washburn say : 

“I don’t like the looks of that feller, nohow. Seems 
to me he’s always up to some meanness or other, and 
may be he deserved the punishment he got for his sassi- 
ness. But I wonder what a man like Hart Emerson can 
see in such a lookin’ chap as him an’ such a hard name 
as he bears. I saw them together in town t’other day, 
and when I accidentally run on ’em in that alley leadin’ 
to the hitch rack talkin’ kind of low like, they looked at 
me as black as thunder. Now, I always have heard a 
good deal about Hart bein’ a bad egg, but I thought to 
myself I’d not believe it till I seed further. I guess he’s 
not here to-day, is he r 

“No, he is not,” replied Dalton, with a positive shake 
of his head. “Bill told me that he waited till way after 
sun up for him, but he never come.” 

“Well, it’s nothin’ new, anyhow,” replied Wash- 
burn. “ Many times as we have called the roll he never 
has answered to his name.” 

** Wonder what he could have been talking with Milt 
about.” 

Washburn emitted a squirt of tobacco juice upon the 
ground, and raising his hat scratched his head in a re- 


120 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


flective manner, trying to recall some item of the talk he 
had interrupted. Presently he looked up and spoke 
again : 

“Wall, if my memory serves me right I believe I 
overheard Hart sayin’ this. That was before they saw 
rne, though ; ‘ If it isn’t enough, Milt, I can easily double 
it for you. But I want the job done quick.’” 

Here some of the others, attracted by the remarks of 
the two men, having their curiosity aroused by the men- 
tion of Hart Emerson’s name in connection with that of 
Milt Harper, and finding the regulators they had selected 
for a talk uncongenial, came up and formed a listening 
group on the ground, while others, seeking congenial 
company and who had not dismounted rode up and gave 
their attention to the ensuing conversation between the 
two old men. Bill Nash, who was in company with one 
of the settlers living between there and his home, was 
undergoing a revelation of enlightenment, and sat in his 
saddle in a listless way, unheeding the repeated attempts 
of his companion to rouse him by some interesting com- 
ment into a sense of his presence. The sudden insight 
into the interior of Hart Emerson’s character was quite 
a revelation to him, who had always believed in his in- 
nocence. His mind as well as that of Jack and Clayton 
readily grasped the pith of the old man’s remarks. He 
had been a believer in Hart’s innocence of character, as 
well as a believer in the identity and awful guilt of his 
old boyhood’s playmate, who had been reported killed at 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


I2I 


the battle of Pea Ridge, and now that he had received 
light upon the interior machinations of one of them he 
was resolved to ferret out the mystery that surrounded 
the other. 

Amid the noisy babble of voices that ever and anon 
rose to high, excited keys and then subsided into low, 
muffled tones, inspired no doubt by fear of eavesdrop- 
pers, Bill heard many muttered threats against the latter 
mentioned object of his thoughts, and happening to 
think of the promise made his sister he almost trembled 
with a feeling of weakness when he thought of the 
probability of the outlaw falling into the power of others. 
He knew that the high pitch of frenzied wrath to which 
the sturdy settlers were strung would require some quick 
and cunning machination to prevent the destruction of 
his old acquaintance. A feeling akin to terror seized 
upon him when he noticed two of the regulars in the 
group just ahead who were sitting with their legs cross- 
wise in their saddles, and heard their direful threats 
directed against the bandit chief. 

“I tell you what, Abe,” thundered Ben Thompson, a 
massive, rugged mountaineer of forty, with big, ominous 
looking eyes and a rather sardonic countenance, ^‘the 
sooner we do it the better for us all. I made up my 
mind the last time he led his men over here, — that is, I 
mean the time before the last, — I then resolved that if 
somebody else didn’t hunt him down and riddle him with 
bullet holes I would do it myself,” and there was a dan- 


122 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


gerous gleam in Thompson’s eyes as he brought his pon- 
derous fist down on the pommel of his saddle to empha- 
size his words, that boded no good to Tom Alton. 

An assentive chorus of ayes greeted this demonstra- 
tion, that was plainly distinguished above the babble of 
voices that ebbed and flowed from a low to a high key 
as their excited fancies dictated. Now rising to a frenzied 
pitch, now subsiding on one side and rising at the same 
time in another part of the concourse, the muttered im- 
precations became thicker and faster, but were all of 
them impressed upon the comprehension of the man who 
was perhaps the only one present that entertained the 
least thought of mercy for the object of malediction. 
No scruples for law or the plan of extinction were stamped 
on the countenances of the wrathful concourse, no 
thoughts of showing mercy to the destroyers of their 
peace and prosperity. And no one scanning the de- 
termined wrathful faces aglow with wrathful zeal could 
doubt for a moment that they would carry out all the 
threats they made. 

“The law be damned,” Bill heard some one say. 
“We have got to make room for the law to act before 
we can have any law. ” 

And viewing all the recent events transpiring since 
the reports of recent outrages had come pouring in like 
the ambulance wagons of a battle field, or the first bul- 
letins of a national election, the denizens of the wild 


THE MARSHALING OF THE CLANS. 


123 


Ozarks were all with one accord confident that the law 
of self preservation was their only hope. 

The first shock of the upheaval was over, the settlers 
had made up their minds, the officers of the law stood 
aside, knowing well that the long pent-up storm of wrath 
was breaking. 


CHAPTER V. 


AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 

Captain David Garnett sat by the fire In his favorite 
chair smoking and talking. This had become a fixed 
habit with Captain Garnett during the winter months of 
the year. Having just turned his sixty-fifth year, and 
fully feeling the departure of animal matter in his bones, 
and not being compelled to exert himself for a living, he 
was thoroughly enjoying the fruits of a long period of 
arduous exertion in behalf of a competence for his old 
age. No need for him to take any rough weather or 
any arduous exertions now, for he was the owner of a 
large plantation, a good, bank account, besides a numer- 
ous lot of graded stock, and also a large saw mill that 
supplied the country with a good grade of lumber. Nu- 
merous workmen were in his employ, who received a 
high rate of wages and kind treatment. All of his chil- 
dren save one were married and settled near by, and his 
eyes were daily feasted on the smiling, happy faces of 
little grandchildren who, when they were there, kept the 
house in an uproar with their clamor and artless prattle, 
while numerous guests also partook of his hospitality, 
thus keeping the house filled with outsiders. But the 
house was large and contained many rooms, and the old 

(124) 



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AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


127 


captain, who loved nothing better than to sit by a cheer- 
ful fire smoking his big old-fashioned wooden pipe and 
reciting past reminiscences of his life to those of his 
guests who he thought would listen, he was rarely in- 
vaded when he expressed a desire not to be by the 
juvenile forces that almost daily invaded the premises. 
Frequent visits of the laborers on his pay roll were not 
considered a breach of society, but received the same 
courteous treatment as the well-to-do planters and drovers 
that roamed up and down the picturesque White River 
valley. To these the Captain was in the habit of talking 
to for hours as the winter season approached, with its 
sudden changes of temperature, its spasmodic flashes of 
rain, suddenly changing to snow or sleet, its raw, damp, 
windy days aud occasional periods of clear and sunshiny 
weather. Thus the old Captain, like some old patriarch 
of olden times, was ensconced in the midst of worldly 
emoluments that ought to have satisfied any reasonable 
mortal, and had nothing to mar his serenity. 

The room he was accustomed to occupy with his 
guests was the room that was the Eastern terminus of the 
house, with the usual high-shouldered, old fashioned 
brick chimney that contained a fireplace both up stairs 
and on the ground floor, the one the Captain was wont 
to entertain his guests in. The room on the other side 
of the anteroom was exactly like the one we have de- 
scribed with a fireplace on the first as well as the second 
floor, while the kitchen was in an “L” that jutted from 


128 


AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


the Eastern terminus. The “L” containing the kitchen 
and dining room was surrounded by an array of low log 
buildings that had been the quarters of the negroes dur- 
ing the period of slavery, and also a large frame smoke- 
house and other outbuildings of various sizes and material. 
At the end of the broad corridor that spanned the “L” 
from end to end stood the ponderous old bell, elevated 
on a stout cedar post. The yard was studded profusely 
with shrubbery, the large fine orchard lay adjoining the 
yard, and at this season was shedding its ripening fruit in 
liberal quantities upon the ground. 

On the opposite side of the river the rugged outlines 
of the Boston Range, a section of the Ozarks that 
spanned the remaining territory of Missouri, the North- 
western part of Arkansas and meandering away Westward 
till they were lost in the mazes of the Western prairies, 
could be plainly discerned of a cloudy day. The spec- 
tators viewing from the opposite side the landscape of 
the region saw a similar display, except that the base of 
the hills was dotted with clumps and thickets of cedars, 
and higher up an occasional glade through which the 
road that meandered up the mountains ran. Just in 
front of the Garnett house the road descended into the 
main thoroughfare that traversed the valley. 

About one hundred and fifty yards up the valley from 
the house was a row of old log cabins, the former resi- 
dences of the slaves that used to belong to Captain Gar- 
nett. They were nearly of uniform size, built out of 


AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


129 


round logs, and the cracks chinked with a mixed aggre- 
gation of sticks, stones and wooden blocks and daubed 
with mud. Some of them had chimneys, others only 
parts of chimneys, generally part, or the whole of the 
arch, while still others had a part of the stem. They 
were rude affairs, constructed in the hasty manner of the 
time before the art of chimney building was brought to 
perfection, with an outside hull of wood, including a 
layer of flat rocks, but the mortar used in their construc- 
tion was of lime. The stems were run up with small 
round sticks projecting a little above the comb of the 
roof, which, unlike many of the pioneer cabins, was 
somewhat steeply pitched. They stood just above the 
road on a little grassy knoll, and were the quarters of the 
plantation hands, while those at the house being the 
servants’ quarters. Besides the decimated appearance 
of the chimneys, the cabins presented many other signs 
of decay. The roof of one of them had been torn off 
for the most part, except where the nails were driven un- 
usually tight, and lay scattered in common with a collec- 
tion of stones of various shapes, sizes and colors around 
over the grassy knoll in an arrangement of juvenile play- 
houses ; the mud and chinking were knocked from some 
of the cracks, and one or two of them showed a number 
of the logs in their construction to be nearly ready to 
drop out with rottenness. The one that presented the 
best appearance was the one that formed the Eastern 
terminus. It had been built especially for the head man 


130 


AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


out of walnut logs, which stubbornly repelled the exer- 
tions of the elements to decay it. Its logs had been 
striped of the bark before the erection, and the gray 
walls loomed up in view as though they would remind 
people of an era of which the old quarters were a monu- 
ment. 

Captain Garnett was one of the old pioneer settlers 
of the valley, and had, after a long battle with the forces 
of nature, wrested from their stubborn grasp a large 
body of land with which to carry out a long cherished 
plan. He had come South with the intention of becom- 
ing a planter on a large scale, and had been successful 
after a number of years of exertion, in which his for- 
tunes varied from good to bad, and vice versa. He was 
fond of relating this part of his history to his guests who 
did not know of it, and many of them were regaled with 
stories of his early struggles. There was, to begin with, 
roving bands of Indians and outlaws to dread, the soil 
to prepare for cultivation by fencing with rail fences to 
keep off the intrusions of neighboring stock, and all 
rough work of hewing out a farm in the wilderness, be- 
sides the ruthless invasions of wild animals who ate up 
the crops. No matter how much time and ammunition 
was spent the overflowing gigantic aggregation of wild 
animals that were then regarded in the light of pests did 
not seem to decrease one bit. The wolf sent forth his 
dismal wail from the very door of the settler’s domicile, 
while oftimes the settlers peered through the cracks that 


AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


I3I 


served for windows of their humble residences and saw the 
voracious animals tearing their sheep and devouring them 
and could not help themselves. Next in order were the 
freshets and overflows that tore all the fences out and 
piled against the trunks of remaining trees huge, un- 
wieldly piles of drifts, then when all this labor was re- 
placed and a crop started, sometimes the crop pests 
would destroy it, or an occasional draught cut it short. 
But at last there came a change, and when the obstacles 
one by one vanished or became less frequent the richness 
of the land soon repaired all damages in several good 
crops. This enabled the Captain to buy a good number 
of slaves, after which he added a little more land and 
established quarters for the new help. Then came a 
reign of prosperity that made Captain Garnett one of the 
wealthiest and most respected citizens of the country, a 
position he held yet. 

The Captain, like a great many others, became im- 
bued with anti-slavery ideas, and as a consequence a few 
years before the war he had liberated his slaves. He 
thought they would remain with him, as he had alwa3^s 
treated them well, but he was mistaken. All of them 
but one had scattered out and settled in the various negro 
settlements that had gotten their liberty. That one was 
the head man, who remained there till this day, now 
living in the best preserved cabin of the row, the one 
that had been erected for him. 

The old gentleman now had nothing to do but sit and 


32 


AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


recount his past experiences to the guests that daily 
thronged that old fashioned Southern dwelling, whose 
master as well as itself held a unique charm for all 
visitors, both far and near, rich and poor, stranger or ac- 
quaintance. No matter what sort of a life any one had 
led, he was sure to be pleased there. No difference 
whether it was the tourist from the aristocratic halls of 
the East, or the Northern city man, or the well-to-do 
planter, or the uncouth professional hunter, or the labor- 
ing man, they all found a place where democracy and 
pleasure united them. The Eastern patrician forgot his 
wealth and lineage, the city sybarite his luxury, and all 
blended together in a true democratic blend, discussing 
various topics and listening to the Captain’s stories. 

The Captain had in his house as a protege the daugh- 
ter of an old army comrade, one of his lieutenants, who 
was killed in the battle of Pea Ridge, and who was an 
old friend of his. Her name was Lottie West, and no 
prettier girl made her home in White River valley. She 
was of the brunette type, with lustrous curly brown hair, 
dark hazel eyes, and pretty, round, plump features. A 
sort of ruddy pink or dusky complexion, and a plump 
little chin, with full red lips that could at times smile at 
the gazes in a ravishing way, with a plump figure of 
medium height, made her a girl to be admired at sight 
and loved by many. However, it seems as though in 
most cases it is the prettiest girl that is most easily duped 
by slick tongued villains, as was evidenced later on in 


AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


133 


the revealing of the numerous mysteries that engrossed 
the minds of the people. 

First, there was the mystery of Fannie Benton’s 
murder that never yet had been solved ; then there was 
the mystery of Tom Alton’s death that was yet to be 
probed and confirmed. Then there was, for years before 
the war, a crime that had never been traced to its true 
perpetrators. It was the burning of a settler’s house 
over near the head of Swan Creek, for which a certain 
man, an old bachelor living in the Fox valley region, had 
been arrested and tried for, but was able to prove an 
alibi after some trouble. Indeed, there were so many 
mysterious crimes committed that the people had become 
somewhat bored at hearing them mentioned. But at 
times the people shuddered for their own safety, even 
while in their own houses, and several ineffectual attempts 
had been made to quell the lawless element, but the real 
uprising had not yet taken place. 

On the day of the appointed meeting of the regulators 
at Washburn’s prairie. Captain Garnett sat in his room 
talking over the late war between the states with another 
man, who had been in the Confederate army. The Cap- 
tain had been one of the few in the White River section 
to espouse the cause of the Union, but he was no less 
reverenced by his neighbors after the strife was over for 
his stand. Often did the old soldiers of both sides meet 
there on different errands and recount their thrilling ex- 
periences. Sometimes there was a mixture of both. 


134 


AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


sometimes only one or the other was there, but this day 
the sole occupants of the room consisted of Captain 
Garnett and Dick Plummer. 

While the Captain smoked and occasionally shifted 
his position in his chair, Dick Plummer placidly rolled in 
his mouth a quid of black navy tobacco, taking a time 
about with the Captain in spitting into the fire, which 
had died down to a few chunks and glowing embers, some 
of them remaining poised on the massive old brass 
andirons. The day was open without, as no sign of 
rough weather was visible, but the air was laden with a 
light, chilly haze that was not very pleasant to one of 
the Captain’s years, but Plummer, who was not yet fifty 
and well preserved, did not mind it, as he had ridden 
down from his own place further up the river for the 
purpose of purchasing some of the Captain’s fine four- 
year old beeves. 

The business had been settled, and the talk turned 
into other channels. It was evident that the visitor had 
some news to unfold by the restless manner he assumed. 
Both men seemed in a hurry to have the deal closed, so 
they could broach the subject that was nearly always 
uppermost in their minds. 

“Isay, Cap,” finally began Plummer, after spitting 
into the fire and changing his position, “I say, have you 
heard the latest tearup that took place 

The Captain looked at Dick with his large blue eyes 
feigning well bred surprise he did not feel. These forages 


AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


135 


of the lawless element were becoming so frequent and of 
such gigantic proportions that they were nothing new. 

“To what do you refer.?” asked Garnett presently. 
“Is Tom Alton and his men out on another round, or 
some one murdered in cold blood and left lying on the 
ground like Fannie Benton ? No, I haven’t had a paper 
for two weeks. I sent Andy to the office this morning for 
the mail and he hasn’t got back yet.” 

“ I refer to the bank robbery at Girard, Kansas,” re- 
plied Dick with an evident show of pleasure at being the 
first one in the valley to hear of it. “It seems like I am 
the only one in the valley that has not been behind in 
getting his mail. But about the robbery, it was this 
way: About nine o’clock on the morning of the seventh 
the robbers, ten in number, I believe, and without masks, 
rode boldly up to the bank and dismounted. As the 
streets were at that particular time deserted, except for a 
few who had ventured out for wood, the robbers got in 
their work very quickly, and were just preparing to depart 
v/hen they were suddenly startled by the report of fire- 
arms and the whizzing of bullets. Some of the store 
clerks that had gone out for wood, surmising that the 
crowd of men suddenly congregating there in front of the 
bank building were robbers, and thinking of the reward 
offered for the noted robber chiefs then plying their trade 
throughout the West, had armed themselves and taken 
a good position in an upper story of the store opposite 
the bank. One of the robbers had his horse shot from 


136 AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


under him and attempted to get away on foot, but while 
his companions succeeded in getting away with the swag 
this fellow was run down and captured. ” 

“And have they found out who it was that commit- 
ted the robbery asked the Captain abruptly. 

“They have,” replied Plummer, emphatically. “The 
robber they succeeded in capturing agreed to turn state’s 
evidence, and was released after informing them what 
particular band he was of.” 

“And what one was it,” queried Garnett, with un- 
mistakable interest. 

Plummer hesitated a moment, trying to formulate the 
answer in the best way. Presently he replied: “The 
man they captured gave the name of Joe Martin and his 
place of residence as Fox valley,” and with a knowing 
look he left the Captain to guess the rest. 

“Ah ! Well, then it’s the bloody Tom Alton and his 
crew. ” 

“No, only a part of his crew,” corrected Plummer. 
‘Gt was him that led them in person, which leads me to 
believe that Harper has led some other detachment on 
another expedition which we have not yet heard of. You 
know that is generally the tactics they pursue.” 

“Yes, yes; I’m sure you are right,” assented the 
Captain, knocking the ashes from his pipe in a reflective 
way. “I think my paper will contain what you have 
mentioned, and ” 


AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


137 


* ‘ It wouldn’t surprise you if the next move was con- 
ducted on a bigger scale, eh,” finished Plummer. 

‘‘Exactly, exactly,” rejoined the Captain, as he drew 
his tobacco pouch from his coat pocket. “It just 
strikes me that they have been so lucky about going un- 
punished that they get a little bolder evety time. But 
take care,” he resumed with a look of determined fore- 
knowledge, “it won’t do for them to go too far, or the 
ice might break.” 

‘ ‘ Ah, Dave, you are more than right, ” assented Dick, 
shifting his position again in his excitement, and emitting 
another squirt of tobacco juice into the fire. 

Before the Captain could reply the door opened and 
Andy Garnett stalked into the room with his coat pockets 
stuffed to the bursting point with mail. 

“Now we’ll see,” said the Captain, excitedly, as he 
and Dick both rose from their seats. 

“Hello, Andy,” said Dick in greeting, “ Got any 
news for us ? You see I’ve just been telling the Captain 
all I know about the latest events, but I’m quite con- 
fident I don’t know it all yet.” 

Andy was busy laying out the mail on the gorgeous 
stand table, and did not reply to Dick’s query till he was 
through. 

“Why don’t you answer him,” said the Captain, a 
little petulantly. 

“When I can find a place to begin I will,” replied 
Andy, “but there is some news that will set the hair on 


138 AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


you. Here is a letter from Uncle Alex. You and 
Dick find out for yourselves. I’ve got to have my dinner, 
for I’m as hungry as a tramp,” and Andy, after he had 
finished laying out the mail, stalked out, followed by a 
quizzical look from each one of the two old gentlemen. 

And while Andy is satisfying the inner rnan with sub- 
stantial edibles we will peruse the letter and see what the 
plan of action as outlined by the regulators really was. 

Captain Garnett’s wife was a sister to the wife of 
Alex Dalton, and there had passed a great many letters 
between the two families that rarely ever contained any- 
thing of interest. They were usually read and tossed 
aside with wearied indifference, but the Captain, recog- 
nizing a certain mark at the end of his name, knew that 
Alex had written on business, and proceeded to open the 
letter, while Plummer -seated himself again. 

“Here, Dick, take the paper and read it while I 
read the letter,” exclaimed the Captain, as though he 
had been defective in politeness. Dick took the paper 
and the Captain seated himself with the letter, which he 
commenced to read. Presently an exclamation escaped 
him, and Dick looked around inquiringly. The Captain 
took his eyes from the letter and looked at Dick. For a 
moment the language of the eye was in full sway. 

“Well, what is it asked Plummer, quietly. 

“Your prognostication has proven correct, Dick,” 
replied Garnett, unable to control his excitement. “I 
only glanced over his letter to learn the gist of it, and it 


AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS, 


139 


is even as we thought. Worse, in my opinion. I’ll read 
it to you, for it no doubt concerns you as well as me.” 

“Go ahead, then,” replied Plummer. “I’m all ears 
just now.” 

The Captain even at that advanced age did not use 
spectacles when reading, nor for anything else for that 
matter. He was a rapid reader, and no one listening 
could find any fault with his pronunciation, which was 
clear, concise, and distinct. 

“Here it is in a nutshell,” he said, and began to 
read : 

“Ozark, Mo., November 9th, 1873. 

Dear Brother : — I seat myself to write you on a 
little matter of business, hoping you will be prompt in 
complying with it as usual. The last letter we mailed 
you told you that everything was sailing'smooth, but we 
are just now having a little rough sailing. I have some 
news to tell you this time, news that will startle you and 
make your fighting blood fairly boil. Well, Dave, to 
begin with, we have been raided again, and this time I 
think they have put on the straw that broke the camel’s 
back.. And I am confident from the way things are 
going now that this will be their last. You know, Dave, 
that there must be an end to all things, and I think the 
end of Tom Alton’s reign has come, or that is I mean 
the beginning of the end. Well, the long and the short 
of it is this: We’ve been raided, and the law of self 
preservation is our only show. The rope, the rifle and 


140 


AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


firebrand are our arbiters. That is strange talk for a 
substantial American citizen to indulge in, is it not But 
look ye, Dave, what else can we do ? What kind of a 
country have we got that we can’t get no protection.^ 
We must make room for the law to act before it can be- 
gin its action, and the sooner we do it the better it will 
be. Now, then, for the items of interest which I sup- 
pose you will get in your paper. While we were away 
shipping a drove of cattle the Alton gang swooped down 
on us and killed the two range riders, Flint and Riley, 
and drove off about fifty of our steers. Then, having a 
chance to wreck their vengeance on poor Carlton, as he 
was away in Kentucky and his family at my house, they 
burned his buildings to the ground and stole four of his 
best horses. They left a note sticking to a tree up there 
warning us that 'if we attempted any summary means of 
redress we would be served likewise. Now, Dave, don’t 
smash any of the furniture when you come to this, for I 
will just write a sentence that will be a world of meaning 
to you who understand it : — We are going to Blanton’s. 
The time has come for action, has it not .? And now, 
Dave, I want you to be ready to receive me and fifteen 
picked men next Wednesday night, and lodge us, and 
also raise as many men as you can there. We will meet 
at Washburn’s Tuesday and form furtherplans for action, 
after which we will pick out fifteen good men to take 
along to the Territory. Then we will choose two good 
men to send as spies to Fox valley. So long, will tell 
you more when I get there. Yours in haste, Alex D.” 


AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


I4I 


For a moment silence reigned supreme in the room, 
while the two men gazed into each other’s eyes in speech- 
less and astonished excitement. Plummer ceased the 
shifting of his quid while Garnett forgot for a moment 
the craving for his pipe. It seemed too preposterous for 
belief, and yet there it was in black and white, written 
in bold round characters. Alex knew the Captain’s tem- 
per well, and his admonition was well directed, for as 
the Captain’s astonishment wore away and his mind had 
digested the facts set forth, he jumped to his feet and 
strode excitedly around the room. 

*‘Easy, Dave, easy,” exclaimed Plummer, also rising 
to his feet. The Captain when excited looked so dan- 
gerous that even his friends could hardly repress a little 
fear for their own personal safety. 

Dick grabbed up the paper again and scanned its 
columns for headlines on the subject. 

<‘Here, Dave,” he said, “wait a moment and let us 
see what the paper says.” 

His eye caught these flaming headlines : 

“Joseph H. Martin tells a few secrets. Reveals the 
personal appearance of the Fox valley robber chief. 
Milt Harper’s testimony evidently false.” 

“Now what,” exclaimed the Captain, coming up and 
looking on the paper where Dick pointed with his finger. 

“Look there,” said Dick. “Our doubts will no 
doubt be eradicated now and we will surely learn for 


42 


An aggregation of startling news. 


sure whether the description that is in the hands of all 
the sheriffs in Misouri and Kansas is concise.” 

“ Read it,” said Plummer. -‘You can beat me at 
that.” 

“I won’t stop to argue that point now,” said Garnett 
as he took the newspaper and seated himself again, while 
Plummer did likewise. Garnett repeated the subject 
printed in flaming headlines, the editor, no doubt with a 
view of attracting the subscriber’s attention to this item, 
which was one that the settlers wished to be positive of, 
had intentionally printed the headlines with the largest 
and plainest type at his command. 

“ The captured bank robber now detained at Girard, 
Kansas, has revealed a good many things that have long 
been a subject for doubt and discussion. He says that 
he is not an outlaw at heart and that he was only insti- 
gated by motives of self protection in joining the gang. 
Here is the interview that took place between him and 
Sheriff Canfield : 

“ ‘Why did you think you were compelled to join 
them in order to protect yourself.?’ asked the sheriff. 

“ ‘From their threatening manner toward me. I had 
come into the region and settled unwittingly in the midst 
of a desperate outfit. They assumed a belligerent atti- 
tude toward me from the first, but I paid no attention to 
that for a while. Of late, however, I heard serious re- 
ports of threats to burn me out, and thought that I would 
have to take some measures to protect myself and family 


AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


143 


till I could get away. I did not tell my wife about my 
proposed plan, which now seems foolish to me. But I 
had for some time wanted to visit this part of the coun- 
try, and took these means of doing so.’ 

‘ ‘ ‘ Then you fully intended to restore your part of 
the booty 

“ ‘I did. I learned a great many of their secrets, 
and one of them was that they always went to Blanton’s, 
a ranch in the Territory, for refuge and recreation just 
after a raid. Blanton, who is a noted desperado him- 
self, and has two sons, Joe and Alf. who are just as bad 
as he, generally has around him a crowd of that sort 
who are dodging the detectives and sheriffs. They will 
doubtless have a big time there now. ’ 

“ ‘And do you think that all the stolen stock that the 
Alton gang and others take out of the states all goes to 
Blanton 

“ ‘Yes I do. That is probably the reason why the 
horse thieves that are raiding this state are lucky about 
their maneuvers. They operate under Blanton’s direc- 
tions, which is this way: Blanton and his crew meet them 
somewhere out here in the sparsely settled districts and 
exchange them horses of an inferior grade for the stolen 
ones, and then when they happen to be overhauled and 
the horse they are riding is different and of inferior 
quality, and no money is found on the person of the 
suspect showing that he had traded the stolen animal for 
another of less value, receiving boot, all evidence dis- 


44 


AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


appears, the captive is freed and has a horse of his own 
to do as he pleases with. ’ 

“ ‘What, in your opinion, do you think will the Mis- 
souri regulators do now ?’ 

“ ‘That is a hard question to answer. The regulators 
are wise enough to keep their own counsel, and they 
probably have done things that remain a secret till now.’” 

Then the paper had this to say about the interview : 

“Mr. Martin’s testimony, no doubt, throws a whole 
flood of light on the mysterious machinations of the 
crooked element of the country. We trust it will result 
in a final restoration of law and order, as the officers of 
the law have been frustrated in their designs by the clever 
way the crooks have of eluding suspicion. We have no 
force of trained detectives dogging their footsteps like 
they do in the large cities, and as they have more room 
to act in and but few to watch them, they have been so 
far having things pretty much their own way.” 

“So they have,” exclaimed the Captain, folding the 
paper and letting it rest on his lap while he felt for his 
pipe and tobacco. “So they have,” he repeated again, 
“but I think the end is coming soon.” . 

Fortunes and misfortunes always seem to come en 
masse, and the minds of those whose eyes rested upon 
these lines were comprehensive of an awakening and a 
clearing up of the several mysteries. The story of Jason 
Palliser’s disappearance, although known by the people 
of their neighborhood, was not known by many living at 


AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


145 


a distance. The Garnetts knew about it, and some of 
their intimate friends, but the great central satellite of 
all the mysteries was the one that surrounded the bandit 
chief of Fox valley. 

“Don’t light till you’ve finished the piece, Dave,” 
suggested Plummer. 

The Captain obeyed, and laid his pipe down, taking 
up the paper again. 

“Let’s see how much more there is to be said. Oh, 
we’re just now coming to the most interesting part.” 

“‘How about the description of the Fox valley 
leader,’ asked the sheriff. 

“ ‘ Oh, as to that I can enlighten the public a little in 
regard to that, too. He is above the average in stature, 
and is dark, with bold, rugged features, and is a perfect 
model for a bandit king.’ 

“ ‘Then the description given by Milt Harper is in- 
correct, is it not r 

“ ‘Very much so,’ replied Martin. ‘He requires no 
oath of allegiance, but it requires a stout heart to turn 
traitor to the band, as the turncoat is always, when 
caught, put to death or tortured unmercifully.” 

“ ‘Then they are of the stuff that the merciless free- 
booters are that figure in all these stories and novels, are 
they not 

“ ‘Pardon me.’ replied Martin, with a little show of 
impatience. ‘What is there to scoff at in the pictures 
4rawn by the novelist } Why, if there are people who 


146 AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


murder by inches and people who are not following the 
trade of pillage who get mad and slay their fellow man 
in a passion, then why shouldn’t these merciless cut- 
throats, who are filled to the brim with the spirit of the 
devil, take off and clip out all the weak kneed members 
in the brutal manner I have mentioned 

‘You are doubtless correct,’ replied Canfield, ‘but 
does the chief generally superintend that part of it in 
person 

“ ‘No, that is generally consigned to a few who do 
not mind killing a man any more than they do a fox.’ 

“ ‘Well, are you not afraid to venture back there 
now inquired Canfield. 

“ ‘I will probably get back and get my family away 
before they get hold of this,’ replied Martin. ‘I will go 
in under cover of darkness and come out the same way. 
They don’t travel about much of a night since the organi- 
zation of the stranglers, for the latter are ever on the 
lookout, and if I should happen to fall into their hands 
the stranglers would doubtless rescue me before they 
could harm me.’ 

“Thus ended the interview between Sheriff Canfield 
and the captured bank robber. Joe Martin will probably 
be rewarded with something else besides his liberty, as 
he ought to be for this manly defiance.” 

“What do you think of that, Dick?” asked the Cap- 
tain, as he nervously laid the paper on the stand and felt ^ 


AN AGGREGATION OF STARTLING NEWS. 


147 


again for his pipe in his pocket. “I wonder what’s gone 
with my pipe V 

“You laid it on the table,” said Dick, with an amused 
smile. “What do I think of that, do you say.? Why, 
I think we are going to have a lively time of it for a while, 
something like the time when you and I were against 
each other. This time well both be on the same side 
of the fence, won’t we, old man .?” 


CHAPTER VI. 


A lover’s quarrel. 

Andy Garnett was a big, strapping fellow, weighing 
not less than one hundred and seventy-five pounds, with 
a slim, dark face, a pair of dark, mellow looking eyes^ 
and big, black mustache, with hair of the color of the , 
raven’s wing. He was handsome, with that dark brigand ■ 
sort of beauty that all women rave about. His carriage ^ 
was of a loose, swinging sort, but of rather slow move- ! 
ment, although he could hold his own with any of the j 
other young men in the athletic feats of riding in the 
tourney, playing ball, wrestling and jumping, which were 
the usual modes of enjoyment. Andy, unlike the Cap- 
tain, rarely ever sat in a chair, only while eating his 
meals. He was fond of bustle and activity and out-door 
exercises, and would sit for hours at times with one leg 
over the pommel of his saddle talking to some other man 
he happened to meet in his meanderings. But he was 
accustomed to strange, sullen moods which were often a 
source of unpleasantness for the other members of the 
family, and outsiders included. When in one of these 
tantrums he would, when addressed, reply only with a 
surly grunt, which, however, as we can not spell it, we 
will say took the form of a request for a repetition of 

(148) 



The two boys stood with open-mouthed wonder at the expression 

on his face. 




A lover’s quarrel. 


Ill 

whatever was said, and then when repeated a surly, 
evasive reply generally was the answer which caused the 
one trying to be congenial to desist. But when in good 
humor there was no better fellow living than Andy 
Garnett. 

Andy, like all other boys of Southern breeding, 
treated every other white boy of respectable tendency 
with respect, but some way or other had a particular 
spite at negroes. Perhaps it was the unthankful manner 
which the exodus of the slaves was made in, perhaps it 
was an inborn quality generated from the knowledge of 
the superiority of the white race and the inferiority of the 
black that made Andy harsh towards the black people. 
His harshness was generally confined to the old negro 
that lived in the old quarters and his two sons, who were 
employed as occasion demanded in laboring about the 
place. 

But the colored people are not altogether devoid of 
gratitude any more than any other race. Out of love 
and respect for the Captain, old Uncle Lige had remained 
to spend his remaining years in his service, while the 
others, who had been imported from the cotton fields of 
Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, and had been used to 
brutal treatment, had become rather unruly in spirit and 
devoid of sympathetic tendencies, had seized with avidity 
their chance of free and unrestrained liberty of action 
and scattered out. Not one of them had ever showed 
up at the Garnett homestead since. Old Uncle Lige was 


152 


A lover’s quarrel. 


wont to make a good many comments on their departure, 
but the Garnetts had taken it rather easy, as they were 
well posted enough to know just what prompted the 
exodus. But they never wearied of the faithful old 
negro’s comments, as they afforded them not a little 
satisfaction and amusement to listen to the uncouth 
philosophy of Uncle Lige, whose woolly pate was not 
entirely devoid of logic. 

The fall work had been over with for a couple of days 
and the old negro and his better half were enjoying a 
visit to some of their relatives farther up the river, leav- 
ing the two boys at home. The two boys were aged 
respectively sixteen and thirteen, and were that age when 
the sluggish animal nature in man seems to suck every 
particle of enjoyment from life there is in it. Whether 
they be white or black, red or yellow, rich or poor, high 
or low, the happy pulsations of youth are preferable to 
the highest worldly success, and there are doubtless many 
to-day that would give a goodly quantity of their worldly 
goods for one more draught from the fountain of youth. 
To drink once more from the old oaken bucket that hung 
in the well, or the rusty tin cup that sat by the sparkling 
fountain, and dream over once more with every nerve 
and fibre of the system, every cockle of the heart pulsat- 
ing with joy, is no doubt the longing desire of many 
whose hearts are surfeited with worldly ambition. The 
negro boys no doubt had their dreams of some future 
worldly emolument this day as they dozed, one on one 


A lover’s quarrel. 


153 


side and one on the other side, of the fireplace on a 
pallet of coarse woolen blankets and home-made com- 
forts, with numerous grotesque blocks and figures of dif- 
ferent hue. The fire had burned low, the door was shut 
and bolted to keep out the cool, raw air and intruders, 
while the old brass clock, elevated on a stout shelf in 
the Corner next the door, struck off the hours with its 
ghostly clanging strokes, awakening the boys out of their 
doze. 

The hours passed and the boys dozed, ever and anon 
turning over from one side to the other. Some hogs in 
quest of a change of diet, perhaps, strayed up in the 
yard and rooted around the cabin, uttering their heavy 
grunts and nearly shaking the building with an occasional 
combined chorus. But the boys dozed on, unmindful of 
anything as the hours passed and the sun crept steadily 
toward the Western horizon. 

Bye and bye the clock struck again. The two lads 
awoke with a start. The sun was throwing a little 
streak of light through a small rent in the wall, the old 
clock closed its clang and the boys gave a tremendous 
yawn and lay down again, after one of them had grabbed 
the poker and stirred the fire. 

But before they .were again enveloped in slumber 
their ears caught the sound of footsteps at the door, and 
presently a thunderous knocking. 

They rose hastily, and while one of them stirred the 


54 


A lover’s quarrel. 


fire a little more the other hastily gathered up the bed 
clothes and piled them on the bed. 

“Boys, wake up in there, I want you,” they heard 
some one sa}^ They knew it was Andy, and that is why 
they were desirous of eliminating all signs of their in- 
dulgence. “Come, tumble out, tumble out, you black, 
lazy devils,” came again in stentorian tones. “ Open up, 
quick ; I want to talk with you a little, and I’m in a 
hurry.” 

“All right, Mistah Andy, weer heer,” answered the 
younger lad, and opening the door he continued, “Come 
in, Mistah Andy. ” 

Andy stalked in unceremoniously and helped himself to 
a seat, while the two boys stood in open mouthed won- 
der at the expression on his face. Never before had they 
seen Mistah Andy look so pleasant and sociable. 

“Sit down, boys; I am in a hurry, and I want to talk 
with you a little,” he said, good naturedly. 

The boys, still wondering, obeyed. 

“Now, boys,” he began in nervous haste, “I want 
to make a little bargain with you, if it suits you. I want 
you to haul up a load or two of good dry wood here, and 
cut it up, and when you have done with that, if you will 
leave here and let us have the shanty to lodge a party of 
men in next Wednesday night, I will give you five dol- 
lars. Do you agree V* 

The two lads gazed at him in awe struck silence for 


A lover’s quarrel. 


155 


a moment, which tried Andy’s patience. Presently the 
elder lad replied : • 

“What de mattah, anyhow, Mistah Andy.?” 

“Well, it is this,” replied Andy, hoisting one of his 
knees and bracing it with his hands, “we are forming 
a wolf hunting party, and there will be so many of them 
that we can’t lodge all of them in the house and must 
quarter them elsewhere. Do you agree.?” he added, with 
a little show of petulance. 

Then the two boys began debating the question, while 
Andy was revolving his thoughts in his mind and thinking 
it queer that they did not jump at the chance of obtain- 
ing the five dollars. He satisfied his conscience by 
reasoning that the wolves they were going to hunt were 
the two legged sort, and he had not lied on that point, 
but he thought perhaps the boys would suspicion some- 
thing wrong from the fact that white people did not 
lodge in negro’s quarters, and feared a string of ques- 
tions that would bother and delay him. But the boys, 
after an exchange of opinions on the subject, agreed, and 
to his delight said no more. He was securing the shanty 
for the purpose of holding a council of the regulators in, 
where they could secretly map out their plans. 

And he had mapped out a plan of action for himself, 
which was as follows : After he had made the bargain 
for the shanty, he would go back to the house and seek 
Lottie West’s society long enough to dare his fate and 
tell her his love. For a long, long time he had been in 


156 


A lover’s quarrel. 


love with her, in fact ever since she had come there, a 
girl of twelve summers, with short dark curls and lovely 
innocent eyes. Lottie was something of a flirt though, 
and played with the hearts of a great many lovers. Per- 
haps it is an inborn instinct with all pretty girls, but 
Lottie had other good qualities that more than counter- 
acted for any bad ones she possessed. She had her weak 
points in her nature like every one else, and one of these 
was a spiteful, vengeful nature that was liable to cause 
her trouble at no distant day, and as events proved she 
only escaped by the intervention of providence. 

Andy had always been jealous of the other fellows 
that paid their addresses to her, but they had one by one 
discovered the hopelessness of their case and dropped off, 
leaving the field to a young store clerk in Galena, and 
young Garnett. Andy had accidentally discovered that 
Lottie was in love with him, and laughed at the pre- 
sumptuous manner assumed by Bob Willis, whom he 
greatly disliked. However stubborn a girl may be, there 
are times when love mounts the throne and sways the 
sceptre, and cupid has many subtle ways of uniting two 
hearts he has desired to unite. Lottie was an icicle at 
times, but there were times when the fire of love burned 
strongly. When alone she was wont to hum snatches of 
love songs while at work, and one day she let the cat out 
of the bag by singing a song of her own making. There 
were other ears besides hers that heard it, and Andy 
knew well that he was the subject. So he bided his 


A lover’s quarrel. 


157 


time, and as yet he had not screwed his courage to the 
sticking point. 

This very evening he had vowed to make the plunge, 
and as soon as he had closed the bargain with the boys 
his intention was to seek her. He was going away on a 
dangerous expedition, and needed something to brace his 
courage a little. A man may have all else the world 
affords and yet lack the love of a good woman, and he 
is not content. So, about half an hour from that time 
he knocked on the door of Lottie’s room and was ad- 
mitted to her dazzling presence. 

Andy, as he glanced at her face, plainly detected a 
triumphant expression thereon, and it puzzled him not a 
little. Blinded as he was by his love for her, he had not 
discovered her grand fault yet. That was her vengeful 
nature. She was somewhat like the description given by 
the little girl of her pet kitten — awfully pretty, but had 
briers in her paws. But the triumphant look soon 
vanished, and she took a chair close to the window and 
smilingly pointed him to another. 

Andy tossed his hat on the carpet, and the first thing 
Lottie knew he was seated close to her, looking with his 
dark, mellow eyes into hers with a wistful expression in 
them. 

“ Lottie,” he began abruptly, “lam going away on 
a trip that will be full of danger, and I want you to tell 
me something. I want to know something I have wanted 
to know for a long time. Tell me, Lottie, is it me you 


158 


A lover’s quarrel. 


love or that young Willis that is coming to see you ? I 
believe on my soul that you love one of us, but which 

“Oh, what a silly question, Andy,” she replied, with 
a nervous little laugh. “Why, what has got into you, 
to come here making love to me now, after I have been 
here year after year and you paid me not the slightest 
attention, except going with me to entertainments when 
there was no one else to go with.” 

“I’d like to know when I ever had a chance to pay 
you any attention,” he answered, encouraged to perse- 
vere by the speech and manner of the girl. “You were 
always in company with so many admirers I had no 
chance to get in a word edgewise. Besides that, Lottie, 
I was afraid that if I were too familiar you might take it 
for the attentions of a brother. You know you are my 
foster sister, and I, as your senior by a number of years, 
might have exercised the rights of a brother and forbid 
the house to a few of your admirers who, to tell the 
honest truth, were of ill repute. But I never meddled 
with you in anything, did I 

“No,” came the answer in a slightly tremulous tone. 
The girl’s eyes fell beneath his gaze. Some inner emotion 
was evidently beginning to stir. 

But one may live a long time with another beneath 
the same roof and then not know the interior emotion of 
the other by the exterior appearance. Andy was flattered 
with the idea that the girl was capitulating, and con- 
tinued : 


A lover’s quarrel. 


159 


*‘Now, Lottie, do you remember the time you came 
here ? Do you remember the time I came into the 
kitchen and saw you there helping with the cooking when 
we had an overflow of visitors that time. Well, I have 
loved you ever since that time. And I have been odd 
and distant to you ever since because I wanted to let you 
grow up without looking upon me in the light of a brother. 
Often when you were in a sociable mood I repelled you 
on that account, and nothing else.” 

Andy broke off and waited for an answer, with an 
effort to keep the raging fire within from melting off the 
shell of his self composure. His eyes watched the girl’s 
face with a hungry eager light in them. Lottie sat with 
averted eyes a moment, and her bosom was heaving with 
passion. What man would not have been encouraged.!^ 

“What is it, Lottie.!*” he asked, tenderly, “you are 
agitated. ” 

Lottie made a desperate effort at self control, but was 
only partially successful, as she answered: “You made 
a grand mistake there, Andy. By your cold neglect, which 
I took to mean that you were proud, and shunned me 
because I was only a poor girl, dependant on your father 
for bread and a home, I have been all the time under the 
impression that I was nothing to you. But let us end 
this interview, Andy, for it can only bring pain and 
trouble to us both.” 

“What do you mean, Lottie i*” he asked abruptly. 

“I mean,” she replied, “that you have said enough 


i6o A lover’s quarrel. 


for this time. Your insinuations are quite unbearable.” 

“ My insinuations he asked in a puzzled tone of 
voice. “Please tell me what you mean, Lottie. You 
are nettled at something I have said.” 

The kitten was now ready to show the briars in her 
paws. Woman like, she desired a complete and uncon- 
ditional surrender, a thorough dissolution of her lover. 
“I mean that you have insulted me by insinuations that 
I kept company with men of ill repute. How can you 
hope to be successful in love making by such ugly talk 
as that 

“But you didn’t know it as I did, Lottie,” he replied 
suavely. ‘ ‘ I know you have a horror of that class of 
people, but let me tell you what my old grandmother 
used to say about men in general. She said if every- 
thing men folks had done were found out on them not 
many of them would be out of the penitentiary, and I 
think she was a little more than half right, too.” 

Lottie gave a ringing peal of laughter, and rose from 
her seat and paced the room in a fit of nervous abstrac- 
tion for a moment. She was evidently distressed. She 
spoke not again, but paced up and down the room in 
evident effort to control her feelings long enough to put 
an end to the interview. What came out later was enough 
to upset her, for she was engaged to one man and loved 
another. 

Finally the hopeful lover had his hopes dashed down. 

“You believe all that rot then, do you, Andy.?” came 


A lover’s quarrel. 


i6i 


to his ears as he sat looking out of the window at the 
picturesque outlines of the Bonton Range, watching the 
light fade out over the landscape. Lottie continued in a 
tantalizing tone, her vengeful desires not yet satisfied ; 
“Why, what do you think is the matter with my be- 
trothed husband 

Andy sprang up like he had been shot, and almost 
shouted in wrathful tones: “Then you are engaged to 
Bob Willis, are you ? Why couldn’t you have told me 
that and not kept me here making a fool out of myself.” 

He took up his hat from the carpet were he had 
thrown it, and made as though he was going, but some 
inward prompting stayed his feet, some spirit of good 
seemed to whisper that all would come right in the end. 
His ire had been aroused, and he thought how strange it 
was that an object of love could by the subtle forces of 
nature suddenly be turned into one of hate. If human 
love was as strong again as it is it would not protect us 
against the darts and stings of the unruly tongue which 
is set on fire of hell, with a squad of satan’s soldiers 
intrenched behind. Andy loved the girl without a doubt, 
but love rarely ever engulfs and destroys the other evil 
propensities. 

“I don’t see for my part what you can fancy about 
that little spindleshanked upstart,” Andy continued merci- 
lessly. “I have, I admit, been jealous of all the beaus 
you ever had, but I have been doubly so of him. One 
reason was because he was courting the girl I loved, an- 


i 62 


A lover’s quarrel. 


other reason was that he had such a mean, snaky look, I 
actually despised him. Then he seemed to take on so 
many airs that one would think he was sole heir to old 
Grandfather Alton’s buried hoard.” 

His reference to this was a common one used by the 
people who knew about it to denote great wealth. The 
old Alton hoard, if ever found, would certainly make 
some one very rich. 

Lottie pointed to the door and said, not authorita- 
tively but entreatingly : ‘ ‘ Go, Andy ; go and leave me 
alone. I don’t want to quarrel with you, but I certainly 
will if you keep on like that.” 

Andy stood with his hand on the door knob trying to 
invent some parting speech that would act as a balm to 
his wounded feelings. 

“Promise me, Lottie, one thing before I go,” he 
pleaded. 

‘ ‘ I will, if it is anything reasonable, ” she calmly replied. 

Andy now opened the door. Turning and looking her 
square in the eyes, he asked this question, which was no 
doubt reasonable enough : 

“If anything should happen to separate you from 
your betrothed, will you listen to me then and be my 
dear little sweetheart 

She laughed another little nervous laugh. ‘ ‘ I promise, ” 
she said, looking him steadily in the face. Then when 
the door slammed shut Lottie went to the window and 
sat down exclaiming : ‘ ‘ God grant it may be so. ” 




'But suppose it is found out on us, Bob ; then what?’* 


CHAPTER VII. 


BOB WILLIS UNFOLDS HIS PLAN. 

Now, while the regulators of Missouri and Kansas are 
swarming and planning for the destruction of the thieving 
hordes that preyed upon them, and the Fox valley 
stranglers are hunting down and dispatching the villainous 
hordes that robbed them of their possessions while they 
were away in the army, we will describe the cherished 
ambition of the young man who had become the be- 
trothed husband of Captain Garnett’s adopted daughter. 
The regulators were dreaming of vengeance, the girls 
dreamed of their beaus, the doctors of their fees, and 
the merchant of his profits, but there were some whose 
plans for self advancement would neither let them sleep 
nor dream. Some of these plans were honest, some of 
tliem dishonest, while some of them could hardly be 
classed as either, but it seems a hard matter for people 
to find a truo standard of ideas on the subject of honesty. 
The regulators believed they were honest in what they 
were undertaking ; the officers of the law believed they 
were honest in letting the freebooters go, and argued as 
proof that the outlaws had been acquitted by false 
evidence so much that they did no good in arresting 
them, which was the truth. Convictions seemed a far- 


BOB WILLIS UNFOLDS HIS PLAN. 


1 66 


distant thing, and the sheriffs and their deputies stood 
aside helpless and let the resistless law of self-preserva- 
tion have its full sway. But while all this was engross- 
ing the minds of men in general there were two men who 
had in mind the idea of a bold stroke for wealth that 
would outdo any of the merciless marauding methods 
pursued by the followers of Tom Alton and Buck Pen- 
dleton, the latter the chief of the Kansas horse thieves. 

Now, then, we all know that we are filled with cer- 
tain mysterious natural forces, spirits of good and evil 
dominate us alternately, but certain ones are more 
dominant than others. You may be an honest man as 
long as you have nothing to bar you from obtaining cer- 
tain things you crave, and yet you may not be able to 
resist half the temptation that others had before they 
fell. Now, what ? What is the dominant force of the 
miser’s nature Love of money. Well, did he get it 
honest ? He did if he had not a sufficient quantity of 
self control, of sterling honesty, he may go through life 
hankering after money and coveting other’s possessions, 
and yet may have enough principle to prevent him from 
obtaining a dishonest dollar. Yes, there are thousands 
that have gone through life with keen, hungering desires 
for certain objects but never yielded to the temptation to 
get them by dishonest methods. And yet there are others 
who are honest because the craved object is easily attained 
or already in hand, and would give way to the tempter 
before they hardly knew what they were doing. The 


BOB WILLIS UNFOLDS HIS PLAN. 


167 


spirits that dominate the rich also dominate the poor, 
and neither land, title, fame nor wealth is any safeguard 
against them. 

Bob Willis had certainly been well described by Andy 
Garnett in regard to his mien. He was a little below 
the average height, of slight build, but straight and wiry 
in appearance. He had a small, round head, and hair of 
a dark brown, bordering onto black, small nose, regular 
features, and little, mean looking black eyes that always 
had a hateful sort of a leer in them. He was somewhat 
of a braggadocio, too, besides the other mean qualities 
Andy had rehearsed, and was wont to brag much about 
his charms for the young ladies to Miss West, but always 
in an underhand way, in order to keep from giving 
offense. He had worked himself into the good graces of 
the young lady chiefly by the aid of falsehoods about his 
exploits in different lines of action and the amount of his 
salary he received as clerk in a store in Galena, which 
was one of the leading ones, so he said. Lottie West, 
despairing of ever winning the man she loved, had tried 
to fill up the vacancy in her heart by an engagement to 
him, which seemed to her something of a vague, unreal 
circumstance at best. She did not dislike him, and 
thought him clever and well posted and manly, but when 
her eyes beheld the kingly form of Andy Garnett she was 
enveloped in melancholy sadness at her loss of him, and 
she endeavored with heroic fortitude to crush the love 
that had come unbidden. So Bob Willis had worked on 


BOB WILLIS UNFOLDS HIS PLAN. 


1 68 


the fancies of the girl with his bombastic talk till she was 
led by thoughts of getting away from the man she loved, 
whose presence was only a torture to her, into an en- 
gagement with Willis, who painted glowing pictures of 
the cozy home he would establish for them in the town 
where he clerked. Added to all this, was another item 
calculated to aid Willis in his suit. Lottie had lived in 
the town of Galena with her widowed mother till her 
mother’s death, and at twelve years of age had become 
an inmate of the Garnett home. But she always had a 
longing desire to again live in the town of her birth, and 
when she realized she had nothing to lose and everything 
to gain, she consented to marry young Willis without 
much urging. 

On the same day that Captain Garnett received the 
letter unfolding the plan outlined by the regulators. Bob 
Willis was in Galena, but was not attending to his duties 
as clerk in the little one-horse establishment ensconced 
on a corner back from the business thoroughfare. The 
store was of recent establishment, and those passing that 
way could discern by the glaring inscription over the 
door that Manton Brightwood had for sale a various 
assortment of dry goods, hats, caps, boots, shoes, and 
groceries, which he would exchange for cash or produce. 
The building was a small square frame, with a square 
front and in need of a new coat of paint, but the door 
was of the double sort, and the porch in front was neat 
and well kept, as no array of goods boxes was piled there- 


BOB WILLIS UNFOLDS HIS PLAN. 


169 


on for loafers to whittle, and no nasty stains of tobacco 
juice marked the floor. Whatever could be said against 
Brightwood, he certainly was scrupulous in regard to 
cleanliness. 

An inspection of the interior of the store revealed a 
conglomerated mass of the articles inscribed on the sign 
piled up and stowed around in disordered masses, while 
the windows were clean and well cared for, disclosing by 
their light the hiding place of each article. But neither 
the light of the windows nor the added light of the open- 
ing door disclosed the form of the owner nor that of his 
clerk on this particular day. Instead, there sat by the 
stove in the back end of the room a soggy looking, fleshy, 
weird visaged boy about sixteen years of age, whom any 
one that ever saw Brightwood could easily tell was his 
son. The boy was absorbed in the contents of a news- 
paper, and his wooden countenance showed feint signs of 
displeasure at whatever he was reading. 

And where was the master and his clerk ? Why had 
they turned over the management of the store to this 
stupid, weird-visaged boy, who sat reading and placidly 
smoking a cigar, with one foot cocked upon the stove 
hearth, while all the signs of life he evinced were an 
occasional movement of the third finger of his left hand 
in tipping the ashes from his cigar. Where were they 
and what were they doing Follow us to the house of 
Manton Brightwood, which was situated on the outskirts 
of the town, and a medium sized frame building, the last 


I/O 


BOB WILLIS UNFOLDS HIS PLAN. 


one on the street. It was an old fashioned dwelling, one 
of the old landmarks of the village and county, with old 
fashioned chimneys, and broad porches, and a spacious 
hall, with a yard full of shrubbery, surrounded by a 
dilapidated picket fence. From the cupola which adorned 
the roof you could have a good view of the valley and 
the bright silvery expanse of the James, which rolled be- 
neath the towering cliffs some distance back from the 
town. To this retreat had gone this day Bob Willis, in 
company with Brightwood, to brood over a plan they had 
developed for their advancement. Financial success was 
too slow for them by the long, arduous struggle with 
honest methods, and as their rascally methods of swind- 
ling had cost them a great part of their trade they had 
seized with avidity upon the chance thus opened to them 
to obtain great wealth. 

Something was in the air that made all those of 
roguish tendencies evince a desire to keep out of the way. 
The great throb and push and rapid business transactions 
were at a standstill and a deadly calm seemed pervading 
the atmosphere. It was like unto the calm of the sea 
that fills the sailor with gloomy forebodings. The ring 
of the woodman’s ax and the blacksmith’s anvil had 
ceased, the busy hum hum of the streets and highways 
were gone, and the ominous muffled roar of an approach- 
ing conflict seemed borne on the wings of the November 
wind that swept in subtle activity over the mountains 
and prairies. The mighty forces of nature were gather- 
ing to throw off that which was unpleasant. 


BOB WILLIS UNFOLDS HIS PLAN. 


I7I 


And this day, at the third hour of the day, Bob Willis 
and Manton Brightwood sat in the room that Manton had 
set apart as his own private den, where he kept his own 
personal accoutrements of clothing, arms, and trophies, 
and talked in low, subdued tones. They had drawn their 
chairs close together, and sat facing each other, and 
occasionally they paused in their conversation to drink 
from a bottle of branded Kentucky whisky that sat 
on the little round table at their elbows. A pack of 
cards also lay on the table, which were clipped at the 
corners and bore evidence of much hard usage. Hang- 
ing on the wall in one corner was Manton’s array of 
wearing apparel. Suits of different color and degree, 

. shirts, some white, some striped, some blue and repre- 
senting several varieties of styles and blends of color. 
Suspended from a rack on the South wall were several 
guns of different patterns. Underneath these there hung 
suspended from a stout nail two huge revolvers, one of 
them an old style cap and ball, the other a cartridge 
pistol of the latest model. Trophies of the chase in the 
shape of deer, antlers and a stuffed bear cub were other 
noticeable features of the room. 

Manton Brightwood was a man of gigantic' stature, 
with slightly stooped shoulders, and weighed not less than 
two hundred. But he was not so bad looking as his 
companion in general mien. His eyes were seemingly 
small, and of that deceitful, changeable color that often 
causes serious arguments between people of an emulative 


172 


BOB WILLIS UNFOLDS HIS PLAN. 


temperament, and were steel blue, black, brown, or any 
old color, according to the light they were viewed in. 
His forehead was high, his nose small and straight, and 
his big, bushy mustache nearly concealed his mouth. 
But on a close scrutiny the underlip was ascertained to 
protrude somewhat, which the phrenologists say is a sure 
sign of mercenary propensities. And in Brightwood’s 
case they had not erred, although Manton, to a casual 
observer, had not the appearance of a rogue, as he had 
a masterly affectation of honesty, keeping the rogue well 
hidden. He tried to shift his dishonest acts onto vari6us 
deviations of fortune that fell to the lot of all men, and 
we find him here to-day with the dominant force in his 
nature in full sway, in earnest consultation with another 
as cunning and mercenary as himself. 

“ But I’m afraid it will be a bigger job than you bar- 
gain for. Bob,” said Manton, as he reached out his hand 
and grasped the whisky bottle. He was hardly con- 
vinced of the feasibility of Bob’s plan. 

“What is there to fear.?” asked Bob, in a querilous 
tone of voice that rose a little above the pitch they had 
been talking in. “You make me tired, Mont, by any 
such flimsy assertions as that. Now, listen to me while 
I serve you with a short lecture. Providence has placed 
this secret in my hands that I may profit by the stupidity 
and levity of others, and I, as a good friend of yours, 
share the secret with you and offer you, on condition of 
your aid and concommittance, a share of the spoils, one 


BOB WfLLIS UNFOLDS HIS PLAN. 


73 


half of which ought to satisfy you. Now, what do you 
suppose any one else would do under like circumstances ? 
Here is this old nig dying up here and sending for me, 
who had befriended him in his illness, and pouring into 
my ears the secret of the hiding place of old Alton’s 
buried wealth. What do you suppose is the reason it 
hasn’t been sought before now ? Because the secrets im- 
parted to the old hard-headed Africans by their masters 
were as secure in the black exterior of their anatomy as 
the buried horde was secure from prying eyes under the 
surface of the ground. But this old relic of anti-bellum 
times, not wishing to die with a secret on his soul, dis- 
closes it to the only person who happens to be with him, 
and that lucky person is Bob Willis, eh ; what further 
argument is necessary, Mont. We’ll just make all nec- 
essary preparations, and some of these nights we will go 
up there and yank the rusty shekels from their hiding 
place, and then — Won’t we have a jollification to cele- 
brate the occasion, eh Mont i*” 

Brightwood gave a sniffle of dissatisfaction that dis- 
pleased his companion not a little, and let his eyes fall to 
the floor in momentary reflection. Presently he raised 
his eyes to Bob’s anxious gaze, and replied in a still 
doubtful tone : 

“ But suppose it is found out on us. Bob ; then what ? 
We would be the same as thieves in the eyes of the 
people.” 

<‘Oh, bother the people,” answered Bob, petulantly; 


174 


BOB WILLIS UNFOLDS HIS PLAN. 


then continued acrimoniously: “ Damn the people, Mont; 
we won’t be swayed by popular opinion, besides that, you 
know the relation we bear to the Alton gang may be found 
out on us sooner or later, and I want to come out from 
under cover, full handed, so to speak. Besides, we can 
go off somewhere else, to Springfield, perhaps, where the 
people are too polite to inquire into the antecedants of a 
gentleman who has money, and bury ourselves in the 
throb and throng of the little Western metropolis.” 

This little speech had a wonderful effect on the listen- 
er, and Bob, watching eagerly for signs of concession, 
was awaiting his answer. His ire was not a little aroused 
at the opposition manifested, but he knew that Bright- 
wood had a secret abhorence of the probable unmasking 
of his rascally proclivities, and he also knew that Man- 
ton’s mercenary instincts were strong enough to over- 
come any other scruples that might present their claims 
in the beginning. Bob was as keen witted as he was 
contemptible. 

“Well, I don’t know but you are right. Bob,” assented 
Brightwood presently, letting go of the whisky bottle 
and shoving his chair back a little. “Come to think of 
it, Bob, despite our strict attention to business and 
various schemes for enlarging our profits, we are on the 
verge of insolvency. Damn it,” he broke out, acrimon- 
iously, “the people are too hard to suit. They are as 
unruly and as unthankful as a lot of boys that don’t 
realize nothing but their stomachs. But let us not harp 


BOB WILLIS UNFOLDS HIS PLAN. 


175 


about that now, we’ve got something else to talk about 
that’s got a little more excitement in it and a heap more 
money. Did the old dark say how much there was in 
the buried fortune 

“Nope. He didn’t know the amount in American 
dollars, but said there was a box about four feet long and 
a foot square that was actually so heavy that him and 
the old planter could hardly carry it.” 

Manton rose to his feet and gave a prolonged whistle. 
“Oh, go easy now. Bob,” he exclaimed excitedly, again 
letting his voice raise. “How did the old fool know that 
it was money 

“He knew by his logical reasoning that it was noth- 
ing but money, silver and gold, that he helped to inter,” 
replied Willis. “His master had told him that it was 
money, and the old dark, to make sure of it, took a few 
mental notes to satisfy his doubts by examining the array 
of family'valuables, and found none of them missing. 
The old man died, and when he was ready to depart this 
life he suddenly bethought him that the lord would call 
him to account for burying his talent, and he sent for his 
better half to unload the secret on her comprehension. 
But the good old Misses happened to be away at that 
time, and the old pioneer planter and hunter had expired 
before she reached him, taking his secret to the grave 
with him.” 

Brightwood paced up and down the room in a reflec- 
tive manner for a moment, evidently convinced. Bob’s 


76 


BOB WILLIS UNFOLDS HIS PLAN. 


arguments were not without logical force, and he was 
becoming deeply interested in the story of the old pion- 
eer’s buried horde. Presently he sat down again, and 
exclaimed as he did so : 

“All right, Bob, I’m with you. Now let’s take a good 
pull at this little bottle, and then when we’re through 
with that I want you to tell me something more about it. 
Tell me the whole history of the Alton family, if you 
know it.” 

“ Very well,” replied Bob, “ I guess I ought to know 
it if anybody does. You know I used to work up there 
in that beat several years ago. ” 

After emptying the contents of the bottle, Bob’s 
tongue was loosened up better than ever, and he began 
the recitation without any hesitation in trying to recall it. 

“Now, Mant, you see it’s a long story and you must 
have patience,” lowering his voice to a low but distinct 
key. “Old Grandfather Alton was the youngest son of 
an old Virginia cavalier that had incurred the displeasure 
of his father by a marriage beneath him, and as a conse- 
quence had been cut off and cast ouf. But he cared 
naught for that, and came West along back in the thirties, 
when this country was still inhabited principally by wolves, 
bears, wildcats and wild Indians. He settled up there in 
that beat when the white people were few and far be- 
tween, and your nearest neighbor was twenty miles away, 
and began hunting and trapping and clearing out a farm. 
Bye and bye the Mexican war came on, and the govern- 


BOB WILLIS UNFOLDS HIS PLAN. 


177 


merit was paying high prices for horses. The old gent 
had a mint of them for sale, and good ones too. From 
the sale of horses, and deerskins, furs, and other articles 
of pioneer production, and trading with the Indians, he 
got together a great pile of money, which he was calcu- 
lating to bless his posterity with, but the circumstance I 
have related prevented it. Tom Alton’s father was a 
grown man when they dared the Western wilds, and a 
few years after coming out here he fell in love with the 
buxom daughter of another old pioneer that lived up be- 
tween here and there, and they were married. Then the 
valleys began to settle up a little before the Mexican war, 
and by the time it was over they were pretty near all 
filled. The old, pioneer then lived in that little stone 
hut up there, and it was there that he died. A few years 
after Tom Alton was born the wife of the old settlet died, 
knowing nothing at all about the whereabouts of the 
buried money.” 

“But why didn’t the old fool of a nigger divulge it, 
it being that he was intrusted with the secret,” inter- 
rupted Brightwood. 

“Well, I reckon the old gentleman had instructed him 
to keep the secret till he died, and he performed it to the 
letter,” replied Bob, leaning back in his chair and crossing 
his arms over his stomach. “You know how indomitable 
these old thick skulled, ebony skinned slaves are about 
keeping secrets entrusted to them, and I suppose that this 
old relic of slavery times would not have disgorged it if 


178 


BOB WILLIS UNFOLDS HIS PLAN. 


you had skinned him alive. But to continue my. story. 
I think it was the intention of the old gentleman to set 
up on the Missouri James the imitation of the old home 
on the Virginia river of that name, but the incident I 
have described delayed it and the old pioneer did not live 
to perfect his plan. But Tom Alton’s father, I believe, 
did plan and had built that house now occupied by Hart 
Emerson, a little while before he kicked the bucket, and 
now the family is extinct in a manner, unless the scape- 
goat for the sins of our chief succeeds in turning the tide 
of public opinion. Darn my cats if I don’t hate to im. 
pose on a man like that, but this fellow that has squealed 
on us will probably cause a breach in the ranks and a 
rout and panic of the forces. It reminds me of the story 
of Arnold Winkelried, at the battle of Sernpach, who 
made a breach for his countrymen by rushing on the 
phalanx of the enemy and gathering as many of their 
spears as he could, fell over and formed an opening that 
resulted in a great victory for the Swiss. I wish I could 
do something great, Mant, that would make me a hero in 
the eyes of the people. But I can’t,” he exclaimed with 
a touch of sadness. “ I have just been borne down by 
force of circumstances till I sometimes think there is 
nothing to live for.” 

“You seem to have an idea that your expectations of 
getting possession of the buried hoard won’t bring a 
change,” suggested Bright wood. 

Bob did not reply at once, but was evidently absorbed 


BOB WILLIS UNFOLDS HIS PLAN. 


179 


in some new thought. “No, I don’t have much idea 
that the wealth of Solomon could obliterate my past 
record,” resumed Bob presently. “If I had kept the 
straight and narrow path I would not undertake this job 
at all, Mant. I would seek out the rightful heir and dis- 
close it to him, and perhaps he would be generous enough 
to divide with me, but as it is he knows the secrets of 
my life too well, and I must avoid him. But excuse me 
if I change the subject a little, Mont,” he exclaimed, his 
face lighting up with new thought. “Talking about us 
burying ourselves in Springfield society, there is Hart 
Emerson for instance. He is a social lion among the 
elite up there, and the odd part of it is they have never 
found out yet what a bad egg he is, but that may be 
because nobody has ever offered a voluntary disclosure 
of his true character. I wonder what Hart will think 
when he finds out that the buried fortune has been found 
and carried off 

“Can’t tell you, for my part,” replied Manton, as he 
rose and began pacing the room in a transport of delight. 
Bob’s description of Hart Emerson successfully posing as 
a society lion in Springfield society had removed the last 
vestige of his opposition, and he was building an air 
castle on that foundation which gave him a flow of 
pleasant, airy feelings. He knew but little about Hart 
Emerson, but was confident from Bob’s talk about him 
that the elite of the little mountain metropolis was being 
grossly imposed on. Yet he felt a willingness to do the 


i8o 


BOB WILLIS UNFOLDS HIS PLAN. 


same thing himself if he and Bob was successful in their 
proposed undertaking. 

“Well, I guess we’d better set the time, hadn’t we. 
Bob.?” he suggested presently, pausing in his walk around 
the room. 

“I’ve already set the time, Mant,” said Bob. “Hold 
down here and I’ll tell you in a whisper, for walls have 
ears sometimes you know.” 

Brightwood obeyed, and when Bob had informed him 
of the time he thought best to make the venture, they 
left the house and went for a stroll around town and a 
visit to the saloon. 




The campers beheld within the radius of the firelight a weirdly 

clad figure, 













CHAPTER VIII. 


THE MEETING OF THE FORCES. 

Night on the prairie, night over the broad treeless 
plains and vast elevations and peaks of the Rockies, 
darkness over the Ozark Range, stretching away to the 
Southwest to meet its big brother Range in the foothills 
of the Southland — a moonless night, at least the moon 
would not appear for a great while — the stars looked 
down from the mighty dome of Heaven on the crawling 
creatures of the earth and noted their doings this dark 
November night. The great monotonous, flower-spangled 
level plains stretched away under the canopy of Heaven 
like a vast meadow, in the midst of which a campfire 
had been started by a party of men by the side of a 
fallen cottonwood in a little oasis of timber. The clump 
was small and just scattering enough to afford a good 
place to camp, while all around was Siberian blankness. 
The men were sitting around in different attitudes, talk- 
ing and smoking their pipes placidly, while the horses, 
tethered on the succulent grass, were filling their stomachs 
unmindful of the tribulations of man. The number of 
the men was twelve, and their faces bespoke determina- 
tion, while also depicted thereon was a sort of meditative 
expression, as though each one had something on his 

(183) 


84 


THE MEETING OF THE FORCES. 


mind that troubled him. Their accoutrements were piled 
against the top end of the log in a confused heap, their 
cooking utensils were piled in another heap on the 
ground. Supper was over, and now was the time to 
talk and plan for the operations of the morrow. 

And who were they and what were they doing 
there 

Well, just listen to their talk and you will soon learn 
who they are and what they had already done and were 
going to do yet. There were stormy times indeed in the 
regions lying between the Mississippi and the Rockies. 
The time for action had come and the Kansas regulators 
were no less energetic than their Missouri brethren. 

George Latimer stood up before the fire smoking his 
pipe and talking, while turning first one side then the 
other to the fire, and occasionally stepping aside as the 
wind blew the smoke in his face. The wind was not 
blowing as rabid as it had been during the day, but 
moaned and sighed around the camp like some lost spirit, 
occasionally blowing a cutting blast which sent the smoke 
cavorting around the circle of campers. The clump of 
timber stood near the banks of the Neosho river, and the 
camp was pitched in a lovely part of the country, where 
it was some distance to any settlements, except now and 
then an abandoned claim where some settler had thrown 
up the sponge and sought other places more congenial 
than the bleak, desert-like plains. 

‘‘I say, Sam,” said George Latimer, as he again 


THE MEETING OF THE FORCES. 


185 


turned his face to the fire. Sam Riley looked up at him 
questioningly from his seat on the ground, with his back 
braced against the log. “I say, what do you think we’d 
better do, anyhow 

“Do.?” reiterated Riley, “why, the best thing we 
can do is to steer off a little Eastward and run the risk 
of obtaining a little help. I don’t want to run any great 
risks with the force I have at my command, besides that 
you know the Cheyennes are on the verge of another 
outbreak, and no telling when the bolt may strike us. 
My idea is if we don’t get help we’d better not beard the 
lion in his den.” 

“ But where do you expect to get help, Sam,” ex- 
claimed a young man named Carver, who lay on the 
ground with his saddle blanket for a pillow. “Who is 
it that is interested enough in the case to join us in our 
proposed attack on the ranch .?” 

‘ ‘ Those are hard sounding words, aren’t they .?” re- 
plied Riley. “We haven’t got any particular grudge 
against the ranch, it’s the men who run it and the rotten 
thieves who take shelter there. Now, you want to know 
why I think we will receive reinforcements, do you.?” 
Sam now rose to his feet and continued, after the others 
had signified their eagerness to learn his reasons for ex- 
pecting reinforcements. “You see, its this way,” he 
said, crossing his hands in an explanatory manner, ‘ ‘ about 
my idea of reinforcements. The Missouri regulators are 
no doubt beginning operations by this time, and my 


86 


THE MEETING OF THE FORCES. 


reasons for thinking that they will pay a visit to Blanton 
this time is this : Poor Tom Riley who got killed over 
there on the Dalton ranch was a nephew of mine, and 
he corresponded with my kids tolerably regular. We got 
one letter from him a while back, stating that if there 
was another foray committed over there the vigilantees 
was surely going to pay a visit to Blanton’s ranch. Well, 
it strikes me that they will go, and go loaded for bear, 
too, on account of the enormity of the depredation. 
They are doubtless stronger than we are, and I have an 
idea that Blanton and his crew will think they have been 
struck by a doubled and twisted cyclone if we should 
happen to meet up.” 

Sam had evidently convinced his audience of the 
feasibility of his plan, for not one of them emitted a 
dissenting word. These men were under the same in- 
fluence that the Missouri Vigilance was in regard to deal- 
ing with the border rufflan element that rode rough shod 
over the settlers and boldly defied the laws of the land. 
This sort of thing was a serious check to the growth and 
development of the country, besides that many of the 
settlers were murdered in cold blood who were thought 
to have some hand in trying to convict them, and a man 
was scarcely safe even in his own domicile. Many of 
those living in the large cities who were of criminal ten- 
dencies had become tired of having their footsteps dogged 
by detectives, and longing for a freer atmosphere migrated 
thither, and increased both the number and boldness of 


THE MEETING OF THE FORCES. 


187 


the lawless element. The citizens of the Sunflower state 
were thoroughly awakened to their danger, and the re- 
ports of their operations against the thieving hordes were 
becoming rife, and the vigilantees of other states were 
following suit, as they realized that the law of self preser- 
vation was now their last hope. But one thing was plain- 
ly evident to the regulators of all the overridden sections: 
Blanton was the central sun around which all the other 
satellites of plunder revolved, instinctively fleeing to him 
for shelter when the raids they had planned were executed, 
and remaining there till the scouts they sent out brought 
them the report that all was quiet and safe once more. 
Then they would disperse and spend their ill-gotten 
funds in riotous pleasure till the time appointed for an- 
other expedition. Therefore it had entered the minds of 
both the Missouri and Kansas regulators that the best 
plan would be to strike their enemies while they were 
sure to be in a body and save themselves the trouble of 
hunting for them. 

Sam Riley had called for volunteers to go to the ranch 
but had not succeeded in getting as many as he Calculated 
to. Perhaps the remainder of his men were being smit- 
ten by remorse when they thought of the graves of the 
depredators now glaring up at the sunlight over the wild 
cactus patches and flower spangled solitudes of the Sun- 
flower state, and wanted no further blood stains on their 
hands. But Riley, instigated perhaps by thoughts of 
avenging the death of his nephew, had taken the eleven 


i88 


THE MEETING OF THE FORCES. 


men that offered their services and departed for the sec- 
tion where the ranch was located. This was just over 
the state line in the Territory, and Blanton was the pro- 
prietor of the land on which the ranch was situated, he 
having married an Indian woman and two sons being the 
fruits of their union. These two sons of the old des- 
perado were named respectively Alf and Joe, and were 
among the most desperate characters in the West. 

Sam, having explained his reasons for expecting a 
union with the Missouri men, the others sat in silence for 
some time, evidently digesting the solid facts set forth. 
What could they expect to do with such a small force as 
that when the force at Blanton’s was probably three or 
four times as large, besides the danger of being attacked 
by Indians who were showing signs of hostility. The 
evident futility of their expedition was the cause of the 
melancholy expression that had overspread their faces 
before Sam had opened up his plan. 

But it was not long ere they were destined to receive 
at first a shock then a pleasant surprise, receiving some 
news that put them at their ease in regard to fear of the 
Indians. 

Sam let the others think for a minute or two without 
any extra flourishes to convince them. A silence had 
fallen over the camp, the wind had, after a fierce gust or 
two, subsided, and the faintly audible munching of the 
horses was all that disturbed the quiet. Before any of 
the others spoke again George Latimer, becoming tired 


THE MEETING OF THE FORCES. 


1 86 


of standing, had gone to the pile of trappings to fish out 
his saddle blanket for a pillow and lie down. Sam, who 
was standing with a thoughtful expression before the fire, 
suddenly felt a vigorous slap on the shoulder and these 
startling words: 

“ Sam, I hear the tramp of horses as plain as day- 
light. Listen, boys, and see if you don’t hear it too.” 

At these words the whole force sprang for their rifles, 
expecting an attack by the Indians. Their sinewy fingers 
grasped the guns in nervous clutch, while the sound of 
the hoof beats came nearer and nearer. They peered 
furtively around the wall of darkness that encircled them, 
looking eagerly for the dusky faces of redskins to pop 
into the circle of light. They had not long to wait 
for a termination of this state of affairs, for presently 
they were aware that the hoof beats had ceased, and 
they were not a little perplexed at the sudden turn of 
affairs. 

A moment later they heard the slow, muffled tread of 
a single horse advancing in the direction of the camp- 
fire. 

“I wonder what that means,” said Jim Carver, in a 
low, guarded voice. 

“ Guess we’ll have to wait a little before we can be 
enlightened on that point,” replied Sam Riley, as he 
craned his neck for a closer scrutiny of the wall of dark- 
ness. Then he added cautiously, “ Better watch your 


THE MEETING OF THE FORCES. 


190 


corners, boys ; they might be up to a ruse of attacking 
us in the rear. ” 

“Yes, and that is evidently a feint to attract our at- 
tention while the main body creeps around behind us, 
and ” 

“ Ho, by the ghost of Pocahontas, there he is now,” 
ejaculated Jim Carver, as the eyes of the campers be- 
held. within the radius of the firelight a weirdly clad 
figure on horseback. 

“ Humph !” exclaimed the Indian in an amused tone. 
“ Humph. Wah. What is the white brother alarmed 
about 

‘ ‘ What is your errand here r sternly inquired Riley, 
coming forward a few steps. 

The Indian, who was a chief, as could be observed 
by the gorgeous trappings of his august person, did not 
seem to be at all discomposed at the hostile attitude of 
Riley. 

“Humph, white brother tink me enemy,” replied the 
chief, now vaulting from the pony’s back and coming 
forward to within a few steps of Riley. When he stopped 
at last, evincing all the signs of friendship he knew, he 
continued : “White brother small in numbers; no good; 
what he do with the big band over yonder pointing 
Southward. 

The others now came forward, eager to learn what 
the mission of the Indian was to their camp. The chief 


THE MEETING OF THE FORCES. 191 


scrutinized their faces with a friendly, earnest expression 
on his own dusky visage, and lifting his hand in an 
oratorical manner, he continued : 

“Me know what the white brothers want. We Indi- 
ans want someting. Now see, you be small and can’t no 
do much what you want. Me come to you, ask you join 
us, then we be heap big strong like the big chief over 
there,” again pointing Southward. 

What did the Indian mean, was the question upper- 
most in the minds of the regulators. Were they at war 
with another tribe and desired to form an alliance with 
them } Sam revolved the matter in his mind a moment 
and then asked : 

‘ ‘ What do you mean, anyhow 

“ Mean big chief Blanton,” replied the Indian. “Him 
bad man, have big heap lot bad men around him place. 
Steal much cattle and ponies from Indians. Steal much 
horses, much cattle, from white brother. Me come see 
white brother, join together, then we go give big bad 
brother some fight !” 

The regulators now understood. The facts of the 
case stood out as clear as a sunbeam. The Indians were 
becoming tired of the depredations of Blanton and his 
satellites and were evincing signs of restlessness and 
hostility to the ranchman and his crew. The Indians 
understood the drift of things quite as well as the whites, 
and were seeking an alliance with them in order to 


192 


THE MEETING OF THE FORCES. 


avenge them all together. But Riley still hoped to meet 
the Missouri regulators and form an alliance with them, 
and he began talking about it to the others. The Indian 
stood listening with a strange expression on his weird 
visage, and evidently understood the drift of the regula- 
tor’s talk, as ever and anon he gave a low muttered 
“Humph,” which was evidence enough that he was 
loaded for bear in the way of general information on 
the subject in hand. 

Presently Sam turned to the chief and said : “ How 

many men do you command 

“ Heap big lot, much about twenty, me guess. The 
white brother he have eleven, that make how many 
asked the Indian, hesitatingly. 

“Thirty-one,” replied Sam. 

The Indian’s face lighted up with an enthusiastic glow, 
and he went on: “Thirty-one. Humph, heap big num- 
ber me and you got. Tother white brother have nearly 
much as we. 

“Tother white brother,” ejaculated Riley, looking 
askew at the others, and then facing the Indian : “Who 
is the other white brother you mention, may I ask 

The Indian stood for a moment with a grave expres- 
sion on his dusky face, evincing no signs of emotion nor 
life, but standing like a statue, evidently bent in deep, 
earnest thought. The firelight flickered and waned, 
making his weird, grotesque figure look more weird than 


THE MEETING OF THE FORCES. 


193 


ever, while the sighing wind in the tree tops, and the 
shadows cast by their trunks gave a ghostly aspect to the 
scene. The Indian seemed preparing a final speech that 
would end the interview to the satisfaction of all. 

After the regulators had had their patience tried to 
the limit by his silence, the Indian at last spoke, and his 
words and manner of conveying them bespoke that he 
was opposed to any idle parley. 

“ Go, saddle ponies, get ready, come with me. White 
brother camped over yonder, not more five miles off. 
Come. ” 

And the Indian turned and mounted his pony without 
another word, while the regulators stood nonplussed into 
inaction by this blunt invitation. 

But the Indian evinced no signs of any further talk 
as he sat gravely in his saddle, his weird figure now bare- 
ly discernible in the dull, flickering glow of the outer 
wall of light. He cast first a questioning gaze at the 
men, then his eyes began to roam the circle of the camp, 
and finally alighted on the chaotic pile of accoutrements 
that lay in the circle of the firelight against the top part 
of the trunk of the fallen cottonwood, and he assumed 
a lofty mien, as though mentally saying to himself, ‘ ‘What 
a monstrous load of unnecessary equipage.” 

But Sam Riley was a man of quick and accurate 
judgement, and never studied long about his course of 
action. He knew the Indian character well enough to 


194 


THE MEETING OF THE FORCES. 


satisfy him that the only course to pursue was to make 
their preparations and follow the chief into the camp 
where the white men were, little doubting but that they 
were the very men he desired to meet. 

“Well, let’s get ready, boys,” he said, as he turned 
and strode back to the log and leaned his rifle against it. 
Sam had no fear of treachery now. 

Five minutes, perhaps, elapsed till Riley and his men 
had completed their arrangements, during which time 
three more dusky forms had appeared in the light of the 
campfire and sat on their ponies in conversation with 
their chief. Their demeanor in general bespoke satisfac- 
tion and confidence. 

And when all were ready the Indians, with many 
exclamations of satisfaction, wheeled their ponies and 
motioned the regulators to follow. They obeyed, and 
the whole troop went flying down the trail at a rapid 
rate, while the wind sighed a farewell in the treetops, 
and the fire gradually sank to a bed of coals, and the 
coyotes now sallying forth began their ominous wailing 
far off over the prairie. 

On went the cavalcade with tireless energy, paying 
no heed to the wolves nor anything else save the dark- 
ness of the night and dimness of the trail. 

Nothing broke the monotony of the night but the 
creak of the saddles and the dull thud of the hoofs on 
the grassy surface. Scarcely visible was the trail to the 


THE MEETING OF THE FORCES. 


195 


white men, but the keen practiced eyes of the Indians 
did net lose it, and after what seemed to Riley and his 
men a very short time, the Indians slackened their pace 
and the chief fell back, exclaiming : 

“Yonder camp, white brother, chief. We camp 
with them.” 

Riley and his men looked in the direction indicated 
and saw the light of a camp fire plainly •silhouetted in 
the canopy of darkness and discerned also the forms of 
men stirring around therein. 

A moment later they had ridden up to the camp- 
fire and were warmly greeted by the whites and Indians 
left behind. 

Riley soon learned to his satisfaction that the white 
men were the Missouri regulators, and that the whole 
concourse immediately set up a confused howl and dis- 
cussion of ‘the wrongs that they had suffered at the 
hands of the ruffian element. 

The force now numbered over fifty men all told, and 
Sam Riley’s prediction that Blanton and his crew would 
think a cyclone had overtaken them seemed likely to be 
fulfilled. 

These were our friends, we have introduced to the 
reader: Captain Garnett, who had been placed in 

command of the whole Missouri detachment; Dick 
Plummer, Jack Dalton, Bill Nash, Andy Garnett and 
Clayton Palliser, and before the latter named person had 


196 


THE MEETING OF THE FORCES. 


been there long he decided that there was going to be a 
stormy time, and he was thinking of the probability of 
him getting killed before he had found a clue to his 
father’s mysterious absence. 

“But the darkest hours are just before dawn,” so 
says the old adage, and Clayton soon had cause to 
believe that the old chunk of crystalized wisdom had 
not lost any o{ its essence with old age. 




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Clayton came up. 


CHAPTER IX. 


CLAYTON FINDS A CLUE. 

The night finally wore away, and the band of aveng- 
ers, camped on the prairie, rose in the gray light of the 
morning and bestirred themselves in the performing of 
the morning duties. Their eyes, when rubbed well and 
cast about for a view of the surrounding landscape, be- 
held to the Southwest the Little Wachata looming up 
above the level of the grassy plains, while on all the 
other sides the level, unbroken expanse of prairie met 
the gaze. Several habitations were also to be seen, 
which showed that the regulators had pitched their camp 
near the settlements, which were more pronounced as 
the progress Eastward proceeded. Over to the South- 
west, at the foot of the Wachatas, lay the domain of the 
Blantons, where the lawless hordes were wont to assem- 
ble for shelter and pastime. 

Clayton rose with the others and went out to care for 
his steed, a faithful little pony, the one he had ridden 
over the mountains that memorable night. His hopes of 
bringing the mystery to light were somewhat dampened 
by the thought of the murderous mission they were on, 
and he felt a trifle pensive this morning when he thought 
of the home he had shunned to come with this expedi- 

(199) 


200 


CLAYTON FINDS A CLUE. 


tion. He knew the opposition he would encounter if he 
went home before starting, and he was desirous to avoid 
any unpleasantness. He had left the money in the hands 
of the Dalton’s to insure its safety, as there was no 
probability of any raid so soon after the preceding one, 
and as he had been chosen as one of the picked men by 
the leaders on account of his accurate judgment and un- 
erring aim, he had no other choice than to accompany 
the expedition. But he did not like the fierce declara- 
tions of the regulators about destroying by force the 
aggregation of villains and the place of their refuge, but 
he had no intention of opposing it should the majority 
declare for it. 

This morning Clayton happened to pass on his way 
back to camp a young man who had been eyeing him 
curiously from the first time he had gotten sight of him, 
looking at him in a wistful way, as though he longed for 
his acquaintance. The young man was no less a per- 
sonage than Jim Carver, who had come with the regu- 
lators of Sam Riley, not because he had anything at 
stake, but simply to gratify his restless longing for activ- 
ity. His parents kept a hotel in the town he hailed from, 
and Jim had taken a turn about at clerking, wood sawing, 
and various other occupations about town till the dull 
times accruing from the panic of the seventies set in and 
work was scarce. Then Jim, having been idle a long 
time and having learned through the newspapers and oral 
reports of the atrocities committed, decided to make a 


CLAYTON FINDS A CLUE. 


201 


hero of himself in the war of extermination inaugurated 
against the lawless desperadoes. That Jim was brave 
no one could doubt when obtaining their first view of 
him, for his visage bespoke a combination of manly 
qualities even to those not versed in physiognomy. His 
head was rather heavily molded, but his features were 
smooth and regular, with large blue eyes and a nose 
slightly Roman, and his complexion was a very dark, 
ruddy color for one who was not wont to follow out door 
pursuits. His demeanor was complacent though, and 
Clayton, who was a keen judge of character by the 
expression of countenance, always was ready to culti- 
vate the acquaintance of a person with a good face. 

Clayton, besides the pensive feeling that possessed 
him, was also possessed of a strange presentiment of 
some coming event that would change the course of 
his life, and which he could not but believe that Jim 
Carver had something to do with. Those of a highly 
wrought temperament and intellectual development, and 
especially those with burdens on their lives, are often 
attracted thus at sight of certain people whom they 
meet with. This was one thing that attracted Clayton 
towards the cultivation of Jack Dalton’s friendship. 

These people of high perception are quick to recog- 
nize those of a strongly sympathetic nature, and Clayton, 
knowing that he could not be parading his sorrow before 
the world all the time, desired some one to listen when- 
ever he chose to make that the subject, and he had found 


202 


CLAYTON FINDS A CLUE. 


in Jack a true and sympathetic listener, a logical coun- 
selor and faithful coadjutor. ‘ 

The young man was just in the act of tethering his ■ 
pony when Clayton came up, and as Carver looked up 
Clayton vouchsafed these words : 

“Quite a crowd of us, don’t you think.?” 

A look of pleasure lighted up Carver’s ruddy face as 
he replied, deliberately: “You know there’s a crowd of . 
us, and I’m thinking from the drift of things that we will 
be thinned out a little before long.” 

Jim had spoken in that careless border strain as 
though a man’s life was of no more consequence than 
that of a buffalo, and Clayton was slightly shocked for 
an instant. But he was too shrewd to think the stranger 
heartless and cruel because he was imbued with the 
spirit of his section, and having decided that Jim was a 
brave and manly fellow, with good intellect and wide 
range of thought, he recovered his mental poise and 
formed the idea of an interrogatory course to satisfy 
himself that he was right. 

“Then suppose you were one of the number destined 
to fall, what would you think of that .?” he said, as Jim 
was drawing the last knot in the riata, making it taut. 

Jim did not reply till the task he was pursuing was 
finished. Then he straightened himself to his full height, 
with his hands resting on his hips, and said with undis- 
guised nonchalance : 


CLAYTON FINDS A CLUE. 


203 


*‘Well, that is a hard question, pardner. If I get 
perforated enough to be killed I won’t think anything ; 
if I get badly hurt I’ll think of the people who will look 
upon me as a hero ; but if I come out with a whole skin 
I’ll think I am not born to be shot. That’s all.” 

Clayton was charmed with the fellow’s pithy reply, 
and resolved upon another feeler. He had a strong 
strain of sarcastic humor in his own composition, and 
came near blurting out the words: “He that is born to 
be hung will never be shot,” as a sort of grim joke. But 
he had the faculty of thinking twice before he spoke once 
and refrained. 

“What do you think of the proposed plan of action 
asked Clayton, instead of the emi'^sion of the sarcastic 
sentence. Then continued: “ Don’t you think we are laying 
ourselves liable by invading the Indian country and killing 
its inhabitants 

Jim glanced askew at the smoke curling up from the 
camp and the concourse of Indian rangers and white 
vigilantes, then replied as follows : 

“Well, I don’t know about that. If the rowdies can 
cut such bold capers and go unpunished it stands to 
reason that we can avenge ourselves in like manner and 
not be molested. Don’t you see how the reds are be- 
having. They are just crazy for us to come into their 
country and wipe out the viperous crew that’s damaging 
them as well as us. So what can we do but follow them 
Jim paused, and assuming an oratorical attitude, re- 


204 


CLAYTON FINDS A CLUE. 


sumed : • “ Now, you see, it’s just this way to my notion: 
If I have a relation who I am convinced is guilty of some 
crime, and he comes into my house by accident and I go 
to you and ask you to help me arrest him, you see you 
would be perfectly blameless if you did so, for if I in- 
vited you therein to assist in his arrest, why, do you 
think I would be mean enough to turn on you and con- 
demn you for unlawful trespass. That’s the way I look 
at it, pardner ; besides that, you may not be as well 
posted in Indian rudiments as I am. These rangers 
know what they are doing, and have no scruples about 
law on their minds. Perhaps the reds are a little ahead 
of us in the making of criminal laws. You know they 
don’t have that horror of homicide that the white peo- 
ple have, and when the order comes from headquarters 
for action against those of criminal tendencies you can 
put it down flat that they are worthy of death.” 

Clayton was well pleased with his experiment, and 
resolved upon cultivating the acquaintance of the inter- 
esting stranger. 

“You have made things a little clearer to my com- 
prehension than they were,” he explained. “ You mean 
that the Indian laws are constructed so as to take quicker 
action than our laws by alloting to a vote of the council 
who is worthy of death, and then the bolt strikes them 
unawares. Well, we can’t make white men out of 
Indians, except by a gradual process, and if their laws 
are modeled according to Indian rudiments perhaps it is 


CLAYTON FINDS A CLUE. 


205 


a good thing for us at the present time. But what is 
your name, pardner ? I am enough interested in you to 
cultivate further acquaintance.’’ 

“ Ah ; my name is Carver,” replied Jim, “James Car- 
ver, called Jim for short. What is your name.?” 

“Clayton Palliser, ” answered Clayton promptly. 

Jim’s big, blue eyes emitted a flash of mingled surprise 
and intelligence which Clayton did not fail to notice when 
he pronounced his name in full. Jim came a step nearer 
and scanned his fac.e in the gray morning light. Then 
he stepped back and gazed at him earnestly for an instant, 
after which he spoke and said : 

And your father’s name was Jason Palliser, was it 

not .?” 

“Yes, that was my father’s name,” answered Clayton 
with enthusiasm. “Did you ever have any acquaintance 
with him .?” 

Jim beat the grassy surface with the toe of his boot 
in a reflective manner, evidently trying to frame a reply 
that would convey in as few words as possible the sum 
and substance of his acquaintance with Jason Palliser. 
Like Clayton himself, Jim was fertile minded and ac- 
curate, and required no great length of time to frame a 
suitable ans.wer to Clayton’s question. Presently he 
looked at Clayton and replied : 

“ Well, you see we used to live over there in Missouri 
at a town called Ozark a few years back, and we kept a 


2o6 


CLAYTON FINDS A CLUE. 


hotel there as we keep one now up here in this state. I 
remember the fall before we left therein the spring, there 
was a man named Jason Palliser stopped with us who 
was looking for a location. You reminded me of him 
the instant I set eyes on you.” 

Clayton felt a tinge of pensive sadness, mingled with 
the pleasure accruing from this announcement, and his 
mind reverted to the old, bright, happy days of his boy- 
hood. It was like seeing and talking to his father, or the 
next thing to it to see and talk with one who had seen 
and known him just before he came up missing, and 
Carver’s words sounded to him like the echoes of distant 
memories opening up the floodgates of memory and let- 
ting in from the back chambers vivid pictures of the past. 
But he realized that he would have to steer clear of the 
melancholy reveries he was wont to indulge in till the 
present crisis was passed over, and he shook off the spell 
that bound him and was once more alert. 

“But what else do you know about him.?” he asked 
presently. “Did you never know about his sudden and 
mysterious disappearance .?” 

Jim was speechless with astonishment, and for a 
moment he stood staring at Clayton, his big blue eyes 
very much resembling two big peeled onions. No matter 
how well bred one may be he will often meet with cir- 
cumstances that throw one off his guard. 

Jim was not in the habit of staring thus at a stranger, 
but it had flashed over his comprehension that a good 


CLAYTON FINDS A CLUE. 


207 


honest stare would pave the way for a reception by Clay- 
ton of a piece of information he could give now that he 
knew what certain items of his recollection led to. 

After a lapse of half a minute, or some fraction 
thereof, Jim looked reflectively at the ground and said : 

“ Now I come to think of it I believe from what you 
have stated that I am the very man you ought to have 
met with before. Let us take a seat here on the grass 
and then I want you to tell me more about yourself and 
the incident you have mentioned, and perhaps I can 
help you to a clue. Your father is still missing, I sup- 
pose 

“Yes; I have not been able to obtain any clue as to 
his whereabouts, or whether he is dead or alive,” replied 
Clayton. 

A moment later they were seated on the grassy sur- 
face of the ground, and Jim, after reflecting an instant, 
said : 

“Then you have not heard of him since the fall he 
left home, have you 

“No; we only received one letter from him after he 
left home, and that was mailed at Ozark, I think, during 
the session of Circuit Court. But he wrote in a dismal 
sort of a strain, and said he had a presentiment of coming 
evil, and advised us to move out there if he should hap- 
pen to miss writing, assuring us that if he wrote no more 
we could look for foul play.” 


208 


CLAYTON FINDS A CLUE. 


Jim nodded assent to this information, and replied : 
“And you moved out there, and have been looking for 
him or a clue to his disappearance ever since 

“Yes.” 

“Is there any particular person you suspicion asked 
Jim. 

This was a question that could not be answered all at 
once in a few words. At least to Clayton’s methodical 
sense all the evidence he and Jack had collected would 
have to be recited before the mention of the name. So 
he began and recited all the evidence he had in his 
possession, at last giving the name to his questioner. 

“Hart Emerson!” repeated Jim, with a nod and a 
beam of intelligence. “ That’s all right, friend; you’re 
on the right trail. Now I’ll tell you what I know about 
it if you’ll give me time to reflect,” and Jim ducked his 
head in a reflective manner, while Clayton remained 
silent and attentive. 

“ What puzzles me,” said Jim presently, “is that it 
is not probable that your father is dead if the evidence I 
have has anything to do with his case. Still, I am at a 
loss to know what Emerson could have meant by his 
drunken confession there in Ozark the day of his acquit- 
tal for the murder of Fannie Benton. You know about 
that, I guess.” 

Clayton nodded assent, and Jim resumed: 

“Well, you know Hart must have felt jubilant over 


CLAYTON FINDS A CLUE. 


209 


his acquittal, and as a consequence he drank pretty 
freely when the decision had been rendered. He was 
actually drunk when I happened to come onto him, and 
I heard him say to the crowd of friends that surrounded 
him, that he was not guilty of the murder of Fannie 
Benton, but was guilty of something else that was worse 
than murder. He said, though, that he could undo it 
any time he chose lo, but we all formed the conclusion 
that he had reference to euchreing the Altons out of 
their property, and passed it by as none of our business. 
But I have often recalled the incident to mind, and have 
also had serious doubts that he had reference to his 
machinations of the Alton property. Now, by putting 
this and that together, like the detectives do, we might 
forge a strong chain of evidence against Hart, since the 
recent evidence you and I have developed. Let us see 
now what we can do.” 

Jim paused again, and producing a notebook and 
pencil from the inner pocket of his coat, he rapidly 
jotted down a few notes in order to compare them to- 
gether and see what effect they would have. Clayton 
sat and watched him with as much interest as if Carver 
was a detective in whose hands he had just placed the 
case. After a minute or two had passed thus Jim was 
ready, and he handed the book over to Clayton for his 
inspection. 

Clayton took the note book, and spreading the pages 
out on his knee, read the notes. They were as follows: 


210 


CLAYTON FINDS A CLUE. 


Last seen of Jason Palliser in company with Boyd 
Emerson in town of Ozark. While at supper the same 
evening he casually remarked that he was going out home 
with Boyd Emerson to look at the place then owned by 
Hart Emerson. Hart Emerson declared while drunk 
that he be guilty of a crime worse than murder. He 
cannot have had reference to the Alton property, for that 
was willed to him by the mother of Tom Alton, whom 
she threatened to disinherit. Hart Emerson says that 
the crime he is guilty of he can undo whenever he 
chooses. Hart expresses his belief that his step-brother 
was killed in the battle of Pea Ridge. Chances are that 
it was a mistake. Tom Alton may have returned and 
threatened trouble for Hart. Hart plans some way of 
putting him out of the way. 

“Now, then,” said Jim, as Clayton handed him back 
his note book, “I will make a few more notes and see 
what they will produce. How does that strike you r he 
queried with an expectant look at Clayton. 

“Your reason is not without logic,” replied Clayton, 
“ but I can’t see into it, that is I am still in the dark as 
to how you will make those notes into a chain of evidence 
in regard to my father.” 

Jim moved over a little closer and resumed : “Now, 
it is either one or the other of two ways, to my mind, 
according to the evidence we have : That your father 
must either be dead or imprisoned is a noteworthy fact, 
or else he would have returned. Now you see these last 


CLAYTON FINDS A CLUE. 


1 1 


notes of mine here. It may be that Tom Alton and 
Hart have formed some rascally plan of getting money 
to satisfy Hart for the loss of the property, and as a re- 
sult have taken Boyd Emerson into the plot. Then 
they have perhaps waylaid Mr. Palliser up there and 
killed him, or else they have shut him up in that little 
stone cabin there for safe keeping till they could dispose 
of him some other way. Then Boyd Emerson agrees 
to play the lunatic, and Hart makes the people believe 
that it is Boyd that is shut up there, whom he asserts he 
does not want to send to an asylum. Boyd takes his 
share of the spoils and skips out, while Hart remains to 
enjoy his part there on the old place.” 

“ But what do you think became of Alton.?” inquired 
Clayton. 

‘ ‘ Well, you know he always had a strong hankering 
after adventure, ” replied Jim, in a positive tone. “I’ll 
bet that he and Hart have agreed together for Hart to 
stay on the place while he hies away to the mountains 
and soon turns up as the leader of the Fox Valley 
outfit.” 

“ But that fellow they captured at the Girard bank 
robbery says that the description of the chief is not that 
of Tom Alton,” ventured Clayton. 

Jim reflected a moment, while Clayton was begin- 
ning to think his reasoning was a little flimsy, but he 
was soon to change his opinion. 


212 


CLAYTON FINDS A CLUE. 


“What if he did,” replied Jim. “ Probably there 
are two clever rascals that have got hold of them, and 
one of them is the redoubtable Tom Alton. Look 
yonder, I see three others coming this way. I wonder 
who they can be.” 

Clayton cast his eyes in the direction of the camp 
and saw three men approaching. 

The young men had been so absorbed in their specu- 
lations that they had not noticed the approach to carnp 
of another horseman, who rode up just as the sun was 
appearing above the horizon. Whoever he was he had 
satisfied the regulators as to his loyalty to their cause, 
and in company with two more of them he was coming 
toward Clayton and his companion. But neither Jim 
nor Clayton could make out who they were, so dazzling 
was the prairie sunlight. They concluded then that they 
had better wait till the trio was in closer proximity. 

When the three came nearer Clayton recognized Jack 
Dalton as one ; the others were strangers, at least he 
knew one as a member of the company, the other one 
he had never seen before to his recollection. 

In a moment Jack and his companions were in speak- 
ing distance, and the first thing he did was to introduce 
to Clayton the stranger. 

“This is Mr. Thornton, Mr. Palliser,” said Jack in a 
very composed manner, and then when the two shook 
hands and exchanged greetings, he continued : 


CLAYTON FINDS A CLUE. 


213 


“date, this feller here has come to our camp with 
a startlin’ piece of news, and one that will help us out a 
lot, too. He says that Blanton and his men are going 
to sack and burn a place over there that is owned by a 
man named Barker, whom they believe is a secret enemy 
of theirs and a spy on them. That’s just the dodge we 
want to catch them at, and if we can keep them from 
finding out our nearness to them we will be all hunky. 
He says they have been threatening to clean out the 
shebang for some time, and now they are goin’ to do 
it!” 

“Yes, and we’d better be up and doing,” assured 
Thornton, “or we may be too late to nip them in the 
act.” 


CHAPTER X. 


BILL Thornton’s scheme. 

While Clayton and Jim Carver were out there on the 
grass discussing the evidence that they had, and endeavor- 
ing tq fit it to a reasonable basis of operation, Bill 
Thornton had ridden up to camp in the first gleams of 
the morning sun, and after satisfying the regulators that 
his intentions were honest, had told to Charlie McKas- 
son, a regulator from the White River country, and 
whom he was acquainted with, the scheme he had in- 
vented for the dissolution of the so-called Alton gang. 
He explained that he was the sweetheart of Bessie Har- 
per, who was the daughter of Ben Harper, the lieutenant 
of the gang, and that Bessie was desirous of seeing the 
band broken up in order to make an attempt to reform 
her father. Bessie, he said, was one of the purest and 
sweetest maidens that ever blessed a man with her love, 
but she was always in deep distress about the wicked 
career of her father. So she and Bill had concocted and 
put into operation the following scheme for the downfall 
of the organization : 

Bill was to join them and learn their secrets, and bide 
his time till another outbreak. By profound reasoning 
they had calculated that the gang would seek redress on 
(214) 



Bill Thornton had ridden up to camp in the first gleam 
of the morning sun. 



BILL THORNTON’S SCHEME. 


217 


the noted lights of the regulators the next foray, and 
then would ensue a small war. The outlaws, they knew, 
were hard to get at in their mountain retreat, and they 
knew the regulators would need all the information they 
could get in order to make a successful campaign against 
them. Bill was to pretend extreme anger at the sup- 
posed abuse his family heaped upon him on account of 
his intimacy with Ben Harper’s daughter, who was an 
outlaw, and that she was not good enough for him was 
the general opinion that was reported to have been cast 
by the McKasson family. The plan had worked like a 
charm. Tom Alton required no iron bound oath of 
allegiance, but woe unto the man who was intrepid 
enough to betray them. .Bill wss duely initiated as a 
member, and so rabid were his declarations against the 
persecutions he had endured that they were blinded 
enough to intrust him with important secrets and 
errands. 

He accompanied them on their raid at Dalton’s ranch, 
and had helped drive the cattle to the Territory, and in- 
formed them that Joe Martin had told the exact truth 
in his statement to Sheriff Wingfield. The bank rob- 
bers were already there when they arrived, and the same 
night the whole crew had indulged in an all-night carousal 
of drinking, card playing, jig dancing, etc., and by morn- 
ing were all dead drunk. 

Bill informed them that the gang was smuggling 
through the products of the illicit distillery, the manu- 


2i8 


BILL THORNTON S SCHEME. 


facturing of which occupies part of their time, and sell- 
ing it to the Indians at exorbitant prices. He said that 
the Blantons and the Indians gathered there, set up a 
shout of joy when the announcement was made that the 
fiery mountain whisky was there in plentiful quantities. 
The whisky venders were smart enough to let them go 
without a season, well knowing that that would enhance 
the price, and this department of the business firm of 
Alton, Harper and company added greatly to their in- 
come. 

Along in the evening a general sobering up com- 
menced, and one by one the crew rose from their drunken 
slumber and walked about the place a while, finally 
gathering at the house again for supper. After supper 
they all attended a big dance given by a half breed who 
lived over the way to the Westward, some five miles, 
and the night was spent in wild bacchanalian revelry. 
On the road home next morning they met up with the 
man Barker, who was in company with two of his at- 
tendants, and their suspicions were aroused to the highest 
pitch. Barker was a quarter blood, who kept a tavern 
just over the line in Kansas, and was regarded as a 
United States marshal by the outlaws, which he really 
was, and they were terribly afraid of him. 

A plot was then instigated to kill Barker and burn 
his place. Alf and Joe Blanton had been for a long 
time impatient for the act, but the elder Blanton had 
held out against it. On those days of high crimes and 


BILL Thornton’s scheme. 


219 


misdemeanors it was not much trouble to shift the blame 
on some one else, so they formed the plan of disguising 
as Indians, so as to make believe that it had been the 
Cheyennes that did the work in the beginning of the 
threatened outbreak. Barker was duely warned by 
Thornton, and he, having formed the idea that the regu- 
lators were in close proximity, set out to find them, and 
was highly elated at his success and the numerical 
strength of the force. 

Charlie McKasson, who was a son of one of the 
members of the Fox Valley Stranglers, and who had 
known Bill Thornton from infancy, vouched for him, and 
every one felt jubilant at the prospect of a better excuse 
than ever for throwing lead at the ruffianly cabal. Jeff 
Carlton, to use a familiar Western phrase, was “spilin’ 
fer a fight, ” and so were the others. Plans for action 
were adopted while the cooks were preparing the morn- 
ing repast, and all present felt as though the time had 
arrived when they could fully glut their vengeance. 

The attack was to be made at two o’clock that day, 
which would give the regulators and Indian rangers 
ample time to lay their plan to thwart the intended 
stroke. The number they calculated on was twenty, as 
some of them were not inclined to take such a risk as 
that, but were secretly pleased with the prospect of 
having Barker out of the way. Barker had no legal 
authority over them as long as they were in the Terri- 
tory, but they often feared that he would lay a trap for 


220 


BILL THORNTON’S SCHEME. 


them as soon as they ventured over on United States 
soil. That he had not done so yet they concluded was 
because he was not ready. 

But he also informed them that the chief had gone 
back to the mountains, and Harper and two others had 
accompanied him, but the men who robbed the bank 
were all there, and if they could succeed in capturing 
them in detail they could obtain the reward offered for 
them, which was a hundred dollars for each one of them. 
The bank robbers were not all included in the detach- 
ment that was going to raid Barker, but four of them 
were, and that would make it much easier to discern and 
separate them from the others for the purpose of cap- 
ture. 

* ‘ But how can we tell them when they will all be 
dyed up like Indians asked Jeff Carlton. 

Jeff, having lost his all at the hands of the raiders, 
was anxious to reimburse himself if possible by the cap- 
ture of some of the bank robbers, while the raiders that 
killed the cowboys and destroyed his home were fore- 
doomed to fall by the avenging bullets of the regulators. 

Thornton assured them that he could distinguish the 
bank robbers even in their Indian disguise. 

So that settled the matter to the satisfaction of all, 
and Jack, observing the two figures on the grass, has- 
tened thither with Thornton and Charlie McKasson to 
communicate the news to Clayton. 


BILL Thornton’s scheme. 


221 


When Jack and Bill together in spasmodic, bickering 
strains, had communicated the piece of information to 
Clayton and Jim, Clayton, anxious to introduce his new 
friend, said, when the opportunity presented itself: 

“You don’t know this fellow, do you. Jack?” 

Jack eyed Jim with a look of doubtful recognition, 
and Jim did. likewise to Jack. 

Jim was first to speak. 

“You are Jack Dalton, aren’t you ? I recollect you 
very well. ” 

“Yes, but I can’t quite make up my mind who you 
are,” exclaimed Jack in a fretful tone. “Yet it seems 
like I ought to pronounce your name easy.” 

“Then I will help you out a little,” replied Jim. 
“Don’t you remember the hotel keeper’s son, Jim Car- 
ver ?” 

“Oh, yes of course I do,” exclaimed Jack, grasping 
Carver’s hand and shaking it heartily. “ How are you 
makin’ it, Jim ?” he asked, in a transport of glee, as he 
s.?ill held to Jim’s hand. “I guess ye ain’t forgot the 
scrape me and you got into that Fourth of July at Ozark, 
have you, Jim?” 

“No, it would take a long time to efface the memory 
of that little episode,” replied Jim. “How is things 
over there now, boys ? Pretty hot times you’re having 
now, I guess.” 

And with such small talk as this the five young men, 


222 


BILL THORNTON’S SCHEME. 


all known to each other, now walked back to the camp. 

Clayton was wise enough to thrust his own private 
affairs aside in the near approach of the crisis that had 
been only a vague speculation so far. That he would 
have these interested friends spared to him was another 
vague speculation, and one that caused him no little 
anxiety. The preponderance of numbers was no safe- 
guard against that, but he finally quieted his fears with 
the thoughts of the result of a single volley from the 
rifles of the rangers, which would doubtless do the work 
if they succeeded in getting the first fire. So the morn- 
ing wore away at last, and the cavalcade, having made 
their preparations, rode away slowly toward Barker’s 
Tavern. 




Sweeping down on the place, leaving a cloud of dust behind them. 






CHAPTER XI. 


BORDER COMBAT. 

Barker’s Tavern was another old landmark like that 
of Hobson’s, and situated on one of the old frontier 
trails, a monument of the old pioneer days when the 
plains were nothing but a vast uninhabited desert. The 
principal object of Westward migration in those days 
was gold, silver and furs, and the Western districts had 
few inhabitants outside of the mining districts. Texas, 
after the acquisition of independence, offered other 
means of support in the way of grazing, farming, and 
coal mining, and the route leading thither was well 
traveled, affording numerous advantages to tavern keep- 
ers. The old trail remained unchanged, while the con- 
stantly increasing influx of emigrants made the hearts of 
the tavern keepers glad by the generous fees they poured 
into their coffers. 

The tavern in question had changed hands several 
times since its establishment. The present proprietor 
had been in possession about two years, but the business 
was not as profitable as it was in days gone by. It was 
frequented constantly by those who loved excessive 
drinking, and the barroom was the source of the largest 
part of the owners profits. In connection with the 
(225) 


226 


BORDER COMBAT. 


saloon and tavern Barker also kept a dry goods store in 
another building just across the road from tl^e one that 
contained the other apartments of business and dwelling 
rooms. The tavern was a long, two storied structure, 
with three upper and three lower rooms, that stood 
facing the road, and back of it were the garden, stables, 
stock lots, and out houses. The old sign that stood at 
the corner of the building was decayed and dim with 
age and the rough usage of the elements, and served the 
owners in announcing that the building was a tavern 
where travelers could obtain lodging and refreshments. 

The place was only about half a mile from the 
Neosho, and stood on a small elevation of the road. 
There was a scattered growth of walnut trees, planted 
perhaps by the first owner of the place. A hedge fence 
inclosed a field next to the river of perhaps fifty acres, 
and the road ran from the river along the hedge fence. 

The day was a fine one for the season, and the bar- 
room at the tavern was in full blast. About seven or 
eight men of the worthless barroom loafer class were 
assembled there in hopes of a liberal treat from the 
prosperous looking travelers that had stopped there for 
the night, and showed no signs of being in a hurry to 
leave. 

Barker was a good violinist, and always kept the old 
Paganini violin in the barroom to amuse his customers 
with his playing, while his son, Walter Barker, a chuffy, 
overgrown boy of fifteen, acted as bartender and dis- 


BORDER COMBAT. 


227 


bursed the drinks. The “no credit” sign, placed in a 
prominent place overhead, did not seem to be obeyed 
strictly by the frequenters of the place, for they assailed 
Barker for credit for the drinks nearly every day, only to 
be met with a stern refusal, which sometimes resulted in 
a free for all fight, in which Barker was frequently pretty 
well bruised. But he still held good the motto he had 
taken pains to have illuminated and hung up where all 
could see it, and as time passed and he still adhered to 
it the barroom devotees gave up the point. 

The- two travelers seemed to have an unlimited sup- 
ply of money, and the crowd for once was filled to their 
heart’s content. One of them, a small, wiry-looking 
fellow, who often boasted how much he could drink 
without getting drunk, and who was the champion jig 
dancer of the community, was dancing a jig, while Bar- 
ker, seated in his customary chair in the corner next the 
front door was playing for him. The others, who were 
not full enough to cause the loss of their senses, were 
applauding him by a boisterous clapping of the hands 
and shouting of “Bravo” and various slang phrases, 
while Walter Barker leaned with his back against the 
bottle shelves behind the bar with a stolid grin on his fat 
face. The two travelers seemed to enjoy the exhibition 
very much, but the liquor they had absorbed did not 
seem to have affected them. 

The wall clock, fastened to the West wall of the 
room, showed the time to be half-past nine. 


228 


BORDER COMBAT. 


Outside there were no signs of life except the lazy 
maneuvers of about half a dozen white goats, which 
were nosing around aimlessly in search of some palatable 
diet, while the big calvorte dog lay under the shade of 
the two travelers’ buggy, with his nose between his paws, 
ever and anon raising his head and uttering a fierce 
growl at one of the goats, who persisted in knowing the 
contents of the buggy. 

But despite the hilarity within and the quietude with- 
out, the owner of the place was uneasy. A close ob- 
server could have detected underneath the apparent 
serenity of his visage a restless, quavering emotion. He 
strove to master the agitation he felt, for he had not 
communicated to any one the news that Bill Thornton 
had brought him. He decided to keep it to himself, 
thinking perhaps the danger would pass, and he did not 
wish to disturb the tranquility of his wife and two grown 
daughters. But the fear that Thornton would fail in his 
search for the vigilantes he expected to find near was 
beginning to affect him, and he knew that unless the 
search was successful his life and property would be in 
jeopardy. He knew that the Blanton crew could not be 
frustrated nor beaten off by himself and son, and he 
knew also that it would be useless to ask any of the 
devotees to assist. His eyes, every few seconds, sought 
the face of the clock as though he feared it was too fast 
or would probably jump a mark or two, bringing the 
hands to the two o’clock mark and the warwhoop of the 


BORDER COMBAT. 


229 


attacking party to his ears. Then he would clinch the 
fiddle bow with a tight grip and mechanically start an- 
other tune, while ’ the others resumed their hilarious 
demonstrations. 

In this manner the minutes which seemed like months 
to Barker dragged slowly by, and the hour hand had 
finally reached the ten o’clock mark. The saloon bums 
had slunk away in the corners, some of them dead drunk ; 
others had engaged in a game of cards with the two 
travelers, and everything had become comparatively quiet 
save the footfalls of Barker as he restlessly paced the 
floor, every now and then going out and gazing up and 
down the road. 

The goats sauntered away up the road and the dog 
had got up and stretched his full length in the road and 
looked away toward the river as though he heard or saw 
something stirring. 

‘ ‘ They’re surely coming now, ” muttered Barker when, 
on gazing out, he discovered the alert attitude of the 
canine. But his endeavors to detect anything that would 
confirm his words were futile. Nothing, only the road, 
the hedge fence and the belt of timber that lined the 
river bank rriet his gaze. 

But he was confident that the dog scented the ap- 
proach of the men that Thornton went in search of, and 
his anxiety abated a little, although he still feared that 
the raiders distrusted Thornton and had not given him 
the correct time which they intended to make the attack 


230 


BORDER COMBAT. 


in. He had been looking for something of that kind to 
take place, and felt thankful that he had as slim a chance 
as he did for a frustration. 

Forewarned is forearmed,” he reasoned, and even 
if the rangers did not put in an appearance he felt sure 
that if he could enlist one or two of those in the saloon 
that were not drunk he could prevent the raiders from 
doing as much damage as they calculated. 

Barker had gone back in the barroom and sat down, 
with the intention of trying to calm his perturbed feel- 
ings a little, when he heard the calvorte out in the road 
give a low, short bark. His hopes rose rapidly as he 
went out again and scanned the landscape in the same 
direction. This time his ea^er gaze was rewarded by the 
sight of a gigantic body of mounted men emerging from 
the belt of timber that lined the river bank. At first, on 
account of the vastness of the body. Barker was inclined 
to believe that it must be a detachment of soldiers sent 
out to quell the threatened outbreak. But he stood and 
gazed at them long and earnestly, watching their ap- 
proach, confident that whoever they might be they were 
his protectors. 

He now thought it time to acquaint the others with 
the situation, and so he went to the kitchen where his 
wife and youngest daughter were at work, having decided 
to tell them first. He went in abruptly and sat down 
heavily in a chair near the door. Mrs. Barker was peel- 
ing potatoes, and when her husband entered she noticed 


BORDER COMBAT. 


231 


his perturbed appearance, and as the threatened Indian 
outbreak was const9.ntly on the peoples’ minds she at 
once concluded that it must be some news relating to 
that that her husband had heard and had dreaded telling 
her and the others about. 

She fixed her keen black eyes upon his visage with a 
questioning gaze, and Barker, knowing that she sus- 
picioned something, having framed his words of convey- 
ance, spoke and asked : 

‘ ‘ Sarah, did you see that young man that was here 
this morning 

‘•Yes,” she replied briefly, while the daughter who 
was baking pies at the stove, looked around with a 
startled expression. 

“Well,” replied Barker, “he brought me a little in- 
telligence which I have held off telling you of till now, 
thinking the danger might blow over.” 

“My God, is it the Indians that’s broke loose r ex- 
claimed the two women in the same breath, interrupting 
him. 

Barker moved his hand in a downward sweep, com- 
manding silence. 

“No, not exactly the Indians,” he said, “ but white 
men in Indian disguise have laid a plan to raid this place 
at two o’clock to-day.” 

The two women were speechless with dismay and 
astonishment, and it was quite a bit before they could 
recover enough to speak. 


232 


BORDER COMBAT. 


“You want to know who they are, I suppose. Well, 
they are some of Blanton’s crew that have concluded that 
the neighborhood is not healthy for them as long as I am 
here, and now that they have tried to kick up a muss 
with the Indians they are going to disguise as Indians 
and raid this place to-day.” 

“And what will we do asked the two women in 
wild accents of alarm. “Are you going to sit still and 
let them destroy us.?” continued Mrs. Barker. “It’s not 
very long till two o’clock.” 

Mrs. Barker and the youngest daughter always at- 
tended to the cooking, while the eldest daughter always 
tended to the store. The store did not require very 
much attention, and the other girl just having dispatched 
a couple of women customers, came over to the house 
just as Mrs. Barker had spoken, and sauntering into the 
kitchen she caught her mother’s last words. When she 
entered Barker seemed to be struck by a new and sudden 
thought, rose quickly and said : 

“I guess I might as well tell you all in a bunch now, 
so that you will know what all this maneuvering means 
here to-day. Just wait till I bring Walt in.” 

In a very short time Walter was in the kitchen with 
the rest of the family, and Barker stood in the middle of 
the floor surrounded by his family and told them the 
whole story as Bill Thornton had told it to him. The 
others were greatly excited, and interrupted him with 
many questions about the probability of Bill being sue- 


BORDER COMBAT. 


233 


cessful in his search. Barker replied that he did not 
know whether he would be or not, but he had discovered 
the approach of a body of men from the river which, if 
it were not the Missouri and Kansas regulators, must be 
soldiers. When he told them this they all went out in 
the road in front of the tavern and gazed down in the 
direction indicated. The dog was now barking furiously, 
and Barker called him back in loud, threatening tones, 
fearing lest he attack some of the approaching horsemen 
that now had made their appearance at the top of the 
little incline. 

The Indians were in advance, then came the Missouri 
men with Captain Garnett at their head, while Sam 
Riley and his men brought up the rear. Barker and his 
family were a little perplexed at the presence of the 
Indians, arid would have scouted the idea of their friend- 
liness if Bill had not galloped out from among the caval- 
cade and dashed up the road in the lead. At the rate he 
was going it did not take him long to cover the distance 
between the cavalcade and the tavern, and Barker was 
highly elated at the sight of him. He came dashing up, 
leaving a cloud of dust behind him, and, dismounting in 
front of the astonished group, exclaimed : 

“Well, I’ve found them, old man; cheer up now, 
we’ve got about three to one against the raiders.” 

“But what’s the reds doing with you.?” asked 
Barker. 

‘ ‘ Indian rangers that are after Blanton and his crew,” 


234 


BORDER COMBAT. 


replied Bill hurriedly. “ Now then, we must make haste 
and lay the trap for them,” he continued, taking out his 
watch and examining it’s face. “It’s now half-past 
eleven, and we’ve got just two hours and a half to get 
ready.” 

Thus did Bill Thornton win the lasting gratitude of 
Barker and his family, but before they were half through 
with their expressions of the same the cavalcade had 
reached them and checked up. Barker, who was ac- 
quainted with the chief, went over to him and began 
talking with him. After a little he bethought him that 
he must welcome his guests and prepare for the 
emergency. 

Twelve o’clock came and the rangers, having eaten 
a hearty repast at the sumptuous table of the tavern, 
went out and bestirred themselves in making arrange- 
ments for the frustration of the expected attack. The 
horses were taken to the corral at the base of the knoll 
in order to get them out of sight, the accoutrements were 
stowed away in the barn where they would not attract 
attention, and in a very short time there was nothing to 
indicate the presence of the rangers there at the tavern 
nor anywhere .near. The saloon was closed, as was the 
store, and Barker, with his family and the two travelers, 
took their positions at the windows up stairs to watch for 
the approach of the marauders. The rangers were, some 
of them, ensconced within the barroom, while the Indians 
with others of the regulators were hidden in the stables 


BORDER COMBAT. 


235 


as a reserve. The bums who had not sobered up and 
left were locked in the smokehouse so as to be out of 
the way. 

The hours dragged slowly by, and the sun began its 
downward descent. Two o’clock came at last, and the 
watchers were breathless with apprehension, although 
their eyes had not yet detected the approach of the 
marauders. Those of the regulators who carried watches 
consulted them and began to think that the marauders 
were not going to put in an appearance. Some of them 
desired it to be that way, while others, like Jeff Carlton, 
who were spoiling for fight, felt disappointed at the delay, 
and feared the non-appearance of the raiders as much as 
Barker had feared their appearance. 

Five minutes past two, and yet no sign of the raiders. 
The sun dropped slowly toward the Western horizon, the 
horses at the corral gamboled and stalked around, beat- 
ing a lively tattoo with their hoofs and, with the excep- 
tion of that, everything within and without the old 
tavern was as quiet as the grave. 

Suddenly a terrible whoop rent the air and startled 
the watchers, who were off their guard. The whoop, 
designed to imitate an Indian warwhoop, would doubt- 
less have deceived every one present, with the possible 
exception of Bill and the Indians, had they not known 
it as it was. The watching group at the window looked 
out to behold twenty-five armed warriors by accurate 
count sweeping down on the place, leaving a long white 


236 


BORDER COMBAT. 


cloud of dust behind them. At intervals of every hun- 
dred yards the 'whoop was repeated, and it seemed as 
though all the defiance in man’s nature was emitted in 
those prolonged imitations of an Indian warwhoop. 

“ Now for business, boys !” exclaimed Sam Riley, who 
commanded the detachment in? the saloon. Sam and his 
men, with those who held the deepest grudge against the 
freebooters, were to commence operations from the bar- 
room windows. Captain Garnett and the men he com- 
manded were to make a quick dash across the stable lot 
and cut off the retreat in that direction, while the Indians 
were to repair to the side next the river and cut off the 
chances for escape there. 

Clayton and Jim Carver were with the Captain, Jack 
and Charlie McKassan were with Sam Riley. Bill had 
paced to and fro from the barroom to the group of 
watchers at the upstairs window, and was there when the 
announcement of the approach was given in the wild 
demoniacal chorus of yells emitted by the oncoming 
raiders. He was beginning to fear that they had post- 
poned the attack, and he wanted the affair to come off 
while the place was guarded so well by such a strong 
force. 

Bill was off his guard, too, when the attacking party 
gave their yell announcing their approach. He turned 
and gazed with heartfelt satisfaction at the weird figures 
dashing down like a hawk on a chicken with their per- 
sons well disguised in their Indian pharaphernalia and 


BORDER COMBAT. 


237 


unconscious of the fact that they were riding straight 
into the gaping jaws of a terrible doom. 

’Tis ever thus with mortal man. Often it transpires 
that the rose his natural eye beholds only hides the edge 
of a yawning abyss. Danger and death, tragedy and 
bloodshed pervaded the still November air. Not one of 
the twenty-five armed and disguised marauders on venge- 
ance bent dreamed that their enemies lurked there in 
that quiet looking place with hearts full of murderous 
hate and rifles and revolvers full of leaden messengers of 
death ready to be hurled at them. Rifles were clinched 
in stout, sinewy hands, and brave hearts beat high in 
nervous apprehension, while the raiders told by their long 
drawn yells that the distance between them and the 
tavern was being rapidly diminished. 

“ Steady now, boys,” cautioned Riley, as he gazed 
out of the window and beheld the raiders not over fifty 
yards away. The clatter of hoofs broke in on the 
auricular senses of the men, and they nerved themselves 
for the shock. 

Suddenly the clatter of the hoofs ceased, and all 
present knew that the time for action had come. The 
warriors in true Indian fashion checked their horses, and 
ten painted demons dismounted and stalked up to the 
tavern. When they saw the doors all closed they hesi- 
tated a moment, thinking perhaps that Barker and his 
family were either prepared to resist or had been ap- 
praised of their coming and taken flight. A council was 


238 


BORDER COMBAT. 


held and an investigation decided upon, which they were 
not long in putting into operation. The door was tried, 
and when it was found to be fastened they sought means 
to batter it down. After a short search they at last found 
a stout billet of wood that had been cast out of the 
woodpile on account of it being too knotty for gcod, easy 
chopping, and when they had discovered it four of them 
picked it up and carrying it on their shoulders made for 
the door. While they were doing this the other five set 
to work preparing fuel to pile against the building to 
insure a quick and substantial blaze. 

But when the raiders who bore the pole with the in- 
tention of battering down the door got within twenty 
feet of the door, the door was suddenly thrown open 
and the sharp crack of a rifle rang out on the air. The 
foremost raider, uttering a terrible shriek, fell forward, 
jerking the others with him, and the pole being very 
heavy crushed them to the ground into insensibility. 
The door slammed shut again, and the raiders for a 
moment were nonplussed and stood in open mouthed 
astonishment. 

Still they did not dream of the presence of so for- 
midable a force, and the shot that brought down the four 
bearing the pole only served to madden them after they 
recovered from their surprise. Those who were gather- 
ing the fuel now made haste to pile it against the build- 
ing, but ere they had gotten within fifteen feet of the 
house, a little closer than their fallen comrades, the door 


BORDER COMBAT. 


239 


opened again and five rifles cracked in chorus and the 
five fuel bearers bit the dust. Another pause ensued 
when the door slammed shut, and now the thoroughly 
enraged pillagers dismounted and made a combined rush, 
as though they would take the place by storm. Three 
or four of them hastily grabbed up the fuel dropped by 
their fallen comrades and piled it against the side of the 
building, while the others tried all the doors. The doors 
being all secure, the raiders, warned of the point where 
the danger lay, now crowded in front of the kitchen 
door awaiting the assimilation of the fuel. Pretty soon 
the fuel was arranged and the match was applied, and 
Bill Thornton, who saw the operation from a window 
upstairs, hastily ran down and informed Riley that some- 
thing must be done quickly if they would save the 
building. 

But Riley and his men had been taking note of things 
also, and were prepared for immediate action. Opening 
the door, Sam stuck his head out and called out 
sternly : 

‘ ‘ Put that fire out in an instant or you are, every one 
of you, dead men !” 

A wild cackle of derisive shouts greeted this com- 
mand, and Riley’s quick eye caught the upraised arm of 
a raider and the gleam of a revolver, and drew in his 
head just as the revolver cracked and a bullet whizzed 
past the door and buried itself in the old sign post at the 


corner. 


240 


BORDER COMBAT. 


“Very well,” remarked Sam, laconically, “if they ' 
aren’t disposed to believe us let them take the conse- 
quences. Hello, there goes Garnett and his warriors. 
Now look out for a jubilee.” 

Swiftly but silently the figures of the Captain and his * 
men were discerned gliding across the lot toward the 
road. According to the plan laid by Riley and his de- 
tachment, they raised the back window and glided out 
one by one into the back yard, and when all were out 
they were to steal around and attack the raiders from - 
the rear, as they would naturally be looking toward the i 
point where they supposed the defenders were ensconced. 1 
Suddenly they caught sight of the stealthy moving ( 
figures of the Captain’s detachment, and before they had \ 
recovered from their surprise at this new discovery they I 
were startled anew by a ringing volley in the rear, which f 
brought down nine out of the nineteen that had not been | 
rendered hors du combat. ' 

A chorus of yells and shrieks rent the air, and the j 
other ten, perceiving that they were cornered, hastily 
drew their revolvers and fired a volley at Riley’s men, 
which killed three of them and wounded four more. 

But Riley had not played his best trumps yet, and having 
deployed ten of his men to watch their opportunity and 
attack them again in the rear. When they turned at 
the first attack the ten hastily ran around the building 
and opened fire on the raiders again in the rear. This 
fire brought down six more of the plucky raiders,- and 


BORDER COMBAT. 


241 


they, perceiving that resistance meant only annihilation, 
threw up their hands in token of surrender. 

All was now confusion. The Indians came running 
in from their side and Garnett’s men from the other; the 
regulators were throwing and kicking the fire brands all 
over the street ; ponies frightened at the spasmodic crack- 
ing and flashing of the rifles, were galloping madly up 
and down the road, while the groans of the wounded 
were rising amid the din, and the Barkers were frantic- 
ally endeavoring to stop the flames that had assumed 
considerable proportions. Finally the flames were sub- 
dued by the plentiful application of water, and the whole 
force set to work diligently to learn the damage they had 
incurred and repair it. Barker informed Riley and the 
other leaders that they were to be his guests till the dead 
and wounded of the battle were cared for, and all dam- 
ages repaired, and expressed his fears of a similar attack 
in revenge for the terrible excoriation that the raiders had 
received, when the ruffians were confident that no resis- 
tance would be offered. He knew that twenty-five was 
not all the force Blanton could muster, and he said he 
feared that he would not be as lucky in having such a 
formidable force of defenders near him as he had this 
time. 

Greatly to Bill Thornton’s elation, two of the four 
men that had surrendered were members of the bank 
robber gang, and they all voted that he should receive 
the reward for them. The other two were members of 


242 


BORDER COMBAT. 


the Pendleton gang of horse thieves and were taken into 
custody by Sam Riley and his men. 

When the confusion was over and an examination of 
the battlefield was inaugurated, sixteen of the raiders 
and three of the rangers lay staring blankly at the No- 
vember sunlight, while four of the regulators and five of 
the raiders were seriously wounded and demanded quick 
medical aid to be saved from death. Fortunately there 
was a good surgeon in Riley’s band, who had been an 
army surgeon. A messenger was dispatched to the near- 
est town for the necessary articles, and while he was gone 
the men prepared the dead for burial. Barker donated 
a spot of ground near the river for the burial of the 
raiders and one in his own family lot for the regulators 
who fell in defending his home. There was an influx of 
curious neighbors there that evening, and many of them 
offered their services and donated the use of wagons and 
teams, while even the saloon bums, who had sobered up 
and learned what had transpired, expressed their willing- 
ness to aid in interring the fallen heroes of that border 
conflict. 




You’ll have to take them over our dead bodies if you want them. 



CHAPTER XII. 


THE COMPACT. 

Next day a solemn ceremony took place in two places 
there on the broad sunlit prairie, attended by the regu- 
lators who took part in the fight, by the Indian rangers, 
the two travelers that happened to be there when the 
conflict took place, and by the greater part of the set- 
tlers in the surrounding country. Plenty of willing hands 
lent their assistance in the task, and both ceremonies 
were performed at the same time. Despite the solemnity 
of the occasion numerous and idle jests were emitted by 
the careless throng of idle curiosity seekers, and the 
Barkers were nearly bored to death by numerous and 
silly questions regarding the incident. A clergyman was 
present from town and offered a prayer for the repose of 
the souls of the dead men before they were taken away 
for burial, and as some of the dead regulators had 
friends and relatives with them, these acted as chief 
mourners at the interment, while a great number of the 
rangers attended the burial of the marauders that were 
laid away in the spot donated by Barker between the 
hedge fence and the river. The money found on the 
persons of the raiders was sufficient to purchase their 
coffins with and pay the other expenses, and the graves 

(245) 


246 


THE COMPACT. 


were neatly rounded off after the fashion of all isolated 
graves, and the spot left unmarked save by the sixteen 
little white mounds that lay side by side in the open, 
grass-covered plain. No tears of sorrow were shed for 
them, no parting volley was fired over their graves when 
the task was done. They were transgressors and re- 
ceived the transgressor’s treatment by an ignominious 
death and a last resting place similar to that of their 
brothers in crime whose graves already marked the end 
of their earthly career over the grassy plains of Kansas 
and the wild mountain gorges and deep tangled wild- 
woods of Missouri. 

But the regulators were not so vindictive as to be 
exempt from an attack of melancholy when they were 
performing their last duty to their fallen enemies. The 
brave defenders of right are never exultant over the 
downfall of a foe nor vindictive in spirit when the victory 
is gained. These brave, hardy pioneers were the nucleus, 
the subsoil of a future civilization, and the fact that they 
were compelled to plunge into the slimy cesspool of 
crime and cleanse it with blood was no argument against 
their humanity and their worthiness. Now that the in- 
famous horde was transformed into inanimate lumps of 
clammy clay, with eyes blank with the extinction of life, 
the regulators could not repress a feeling of repugnance 
at the task they had set for themselves, and not one of 
them present there at the interment of the dead free- 
booters but what wished that this was the last action of 


THE COMPACT. 


247 


the campaign. But they had one consolation that would 
eventually offset the remorseful melancholy that possessed 
them. This action, in which so many of the marauding 
desperadoes were eliminated from the roll of active 
operation, would doubtless be a warning to those that 
had escaped to cease their misdeeds and turn from the 
error of their ways. 

The Indian rangers formed the plan of warning 
Blanton that if he did not cease harboring the lawless 
element of the surrounding states and cease stealing the 
Indians’ stock that his ranch would be burned and he 
himself hanged. The Indians were no fools, and knew 
enough to acquaint the military authorities with the cir- 
cumstances, and Blanton would surely have sense enough 
to heed the warning when he discovered the tightening 
of . the cords around him. 

As the days were short at this season of the year the 
task was not completed till a quarter past three o’clock, 
and Barker insisted upon the regulators remaining there 
over night. They complied and went back to the tavern, 
satisfied that the disagreeable task tkey had undertaken 
was over. 

The Kansas men related the stirring incidents of their 
campaign against the horse thieves that infested their 
state, while the Missouri men doubtless told of the 
termination of several earthly careers that took place 
back in the rugged region of Southern Missouri and 
Northern Kansas. 


248 


THE COMPACT. 


Alex. Dalton was desirous of regaining the cattle that 
had been driven from his ranch, and had made up his 
mind to go over to the ranch and have an interview with 
Blanton with a view to that effect. Blanton had by this 
time learned of the presence of the large force of rangers 
in the vicinity and the fate that had overtaken the party 
sent to destroy Barker, and would be ,apt to evince a 
desire for conciliation. Viewing the matter in this light, 
Dalton believed it would be no trouble to effect a com- 
promise. 

As it happened that the four young men interested in 
Clayton’s affairs were thereat the interment, and himself 
included as a consequence, when the task was completed 
Jim Carver sought Clayton out and suggested that they 
take a stroll down to the river and perfect their plans for 
a thorough investigation of the matter they had been 
talking about. Clayton felt devoutly thankful that these 
interested friends were spared him, and his mind had 
formed a mental picture of the future operations and 
outcome of their search. He felt sure that Carver had 
struck a correct solution of the problem if the Emersons 
had anything to do with it, and he was anxious to get 
back home and carry out the programme. So he called 
Jack and the other two together, and while the others 
were walking back to the tavern the five young men 
strolled down to the river. 

There was a nice greensward hidden by a high 
sloping bank just at the verge of the timber, and it 


THE COMPACT. 


249 


was here that the young men repaired to formulate 
their plan of operation. 

Bill and the other two were informed of the knowl- 
edge that Jim held of the case, and they all coincided 
with his views, which they admitted were reasonable 
enough if the suspicions they attached to the Emersons 
were not groundless. They reasoned that the Emersons 
had brought with them from their former place of abode 
the reputation of being a cruel, mercenary set, and if 
Jason Palliser had fallen into their hands he had certainly 
parted with his money if he had not with his life, and 
according to Jim’s theory he had either parted with his 
life or his liberty. 

The probability of the missing man’s being impris- 
oned anywhere had not even entered the mind of Jack, 
who was so fond of explaining his theory of the case 
from the standpoint of his favorite author, the novelist. 
Neither had it entered Clayton’s mind in all his brain 
racking, sleepless nights he had spent in a desperate en- 
deavor to form a correct solution. 

Jim had spoken right when he said that he was the 
man Clayton ought to have met with before. 

Clayton had often, in his meditations on the subject, 
fancied the scene of an exhumation of some isolated 
grave somewhere amid the woody dingles of the moun- 
tains, and had resolved that should such a one be found 
he would dig up the contents, although he always had a 
natural repugnance for dead bodies, especially of human 


250 


THE COMPACT. 


beings. But he often vowed that he would leave no 
stone unturned that would lead to the discovery of his 
father’s fate, and now that he had obtained through in- 
heritance the necessary funds to enable him to devote 
his whole time to the task, he resolved that as soon as he 
had performed his duty as a member of the vigilantes 
that he would from that time on seek diligently for a clue 
till the mystery was solved. So he thought from the 
way things were drifting now that his trip with the regu- 
lators had been a very fruitful one. 

Jack’s theory of the isolated grave was also duly con- 
sidered and thoroughly discussed. Carver suggested that 
as it would be the easiest to sift the imprisonment theory 
to reconnoitre the little stone hut first, and if that theory 
was exploded by developed proof then to proceed with 
the exhumation. And as Jim seemed to be the most 
logical counselor, and the most accurate calculator, and 
also possessed the most evidence, the other four readily 
followed his lead and acquiesced in the plans he dis- 
closed. 

Clayton had been loth to believe that any of the ter- 
rible and unnatural incidents described in Jack’s favorite 
books were ever enacted in real life, and many a lively 
controversy had ensued between the two friends on the 
subject. Of course this did not interfere with their 
friendship, for it is a remarkable fact that if men were to 
express themselves in actual words in regard to each 
other’s private opinions, or rather their own private 


THE COMPACT. 


25 


opinions of the other fellow’s opinions in general, there 
would be no end of trouble. It is a faulty and treach- 
erous nature we possess, and surely there is no man nor 
woman that would not welcome the advent of a better 
one. Clayton drew his ideas of life from the master 
minds of the age, but he was somewhat skeptical about 
the incidents described in the highly wrought fiction that 
Jack delighted in. In fact he was secretly amused at 
Jack’s consistency, and while he desired no friction nor 
breach of their friendship, Clayton outwardly respected 
Jack’s opinions, while Jack, although he had no quarrel 
with the practical side of life, still believed Clayton in 
error in regard to the thorough debasement of some 
human beings. He argued that there were people on 
earth with not an atom of good in them, while Clayton 
held to the opinion that there was good in all people if 
the proper means for eliciting it were applied. 

Then Jack would jocosely point to Milt Harper as an 
example of illustration for his side of the question, and 
Clayton would gravely admit that there were a few ex- 
ceptional cases, and the argument would end till the next 
time they met and were in the mood for renewing it. 

Jim Carver was evidently a match for Clayton in 
mental powers, and Clayton was quick to discover it, but 
he was in no wise disconcerted nor jealous because Jim 
assumed the leadership in the formation of the proposed 
operations in his behalf. 

Egotism was not a strong feature of Clayton’s char- 


252 


THE COMPACT. 


acter, and Jim’s hearty interest and elucidation pleased 
him exceedingly, while the others also realized his capac- 
ity for quick and rapid planning, and they, one and all, 
mentally voted him as the chosen leader. 

There was a necessity for having a leader who could 
form such quick plans of action, for the expedition was 
doubtless fraught with much danger. 

These were excitable times to go prowling around any 
one’s premises, and there was no telling what time they 
might fall into a trap of some kind, for the* ominous 
reputation the Emersons bore caused the young men to 
fear that they might meet the same fate that befell the 
man they sought. 

But the compact was formed, and Jim was to ac- 
company them back to their homes and become Clayton’s 
guest for a season. 

What the outcome would be none of them dared 
venture an opinion about, but they all felt sure that if 
Jim’s prognostication was not fulfilled it stood to reason 
that the Emersons were guiltless. 

When they returned to the tavern they found Alex. 
Dalton and a delegation of the regulators saddled up and 
ready to depart for Blanton’s ranch, with the intention 
of persuading the old desperado, if they could, to re- 
linquish all ar a part of the stolen cattle. 

Jeff Carlton was one of the delegation, and he also 


THE COMPACT. 


253 


entertained some hopes of recovering his horses that the 
raiders had taken when they fired his buildings. 

Another council had been held, and an ultimatum 
had been framed and signed by the whole force save by 
the party that was absent at the river, and if it was not 
complied with they would set fire to the ranch, which at 
this season of the year would have been a more formid- 
able foe than three times that number of armed men. 

Barker also signed the ultimatum demanding the 
restoration of the stolen stock, but it was only to be used 
as a last resort. 

It was also confirmed by the Indians, who desired to 
put a stop to the depredations of Blanton and his crew, 
if it were possible, but the whole force dreaded any 
further bloodshed, and the plan of firing the ranch was 
resorted to as a substitute. 

Bill was requested to accompany the party as guide, 
and was somewhat reluctant to do so. He did not want 
to expose himself so readily as that, and only agreed 
after Jack had formed the idea of going with them and 
coming back with him when he had conducted them to 
the ranch. 

Twilight was fast dissolving into darkness when the 
party rode up to the ranch house and beheld for the first 
time the domicile of the man that had harbored their 
enemies for so long. The house and other buildings lay 
at the base of the little chain of hills called theWichata 
mountains, whether by courtesy or jest we know not, and 


254 


THE COMPACT. 


a steep, grass-covered incline rose just back of it, fringed 
at the crest by a dense growth of oak, birch and maple, 
with a light sprinkling of ash and a few small cedars. 
The grazing grounds stretched for miles along between 
the hills, and a creek that wended its course towards the 
Neosho in a tolerable straight line, and the eyes of the 
regulators beheld an astonishing number of cattle and 
horses dotting the grass covered plain that was inclosed 
with barbed wire, and this strengthened their belief that 
the stock that was stolen in the surrounding states all 
found its way there. So when Alex, hallooed at the 
front of the ranch house it was with much hopes of a 
peaceable interview, for Blanton would scarcely relin- 
quish such a magnificent display as that to the chances 
of a prairie fire or the chances of armed hostility. 

No signs of any men folks were visible about the 
place, and Jefi suggested that it might be difficult to find 
any of the male members of the place. But it was not 
long before they, were gratified by the sight of a man 
approaching from the back yard with a lighted lantern 
coming toward them at a slow leisurely pace. A pack 
of dogs that were lying around the door of the kitchen, 
which was in an el at the rear of the main building, be- 
ing aroused by the shouting came bounding out with 
furious barking, and the party was not a little nettled 
when they noticed that the man, whoever he might be, 
made no effort to recall or stop them. But a dog knows 
when he is in danger as well as a man, and when the 


THE COMPACT. 


255 


pack reached the yard fence and saw the savage gleam 
in the eyes of the men they concluded that they had 
better stay inside. 

“Why in h — 1 don’t you call them dogs off,” shouted 
Carlton, whose dominant element was beginning to assert 
itself. 

The man made no answer, but came striding on in 
the same leisurely fashion till he got to the fence, which 
was only a tumble down rail fence with a rickety old gate 
for an entrance. In the dim light imparted by the de- 
parting rays of the sun and the dim starlight they saw a 
man whom they at once recognized by Bill’s description 
of him as the owner of the ranch. 

For the first time since they had learned of him the 
vigilantes beheld the man that had thwarted their efforts 
at redress by harboring their foes. There were times 
beforehand when they had threatened to pay him a visit, 
but some way or other the threats were never consum- 
mated as the years passed and the information they had 
received at first was increased and confirmed. 

When they beheld the vast number of animals that 
dotted the grazing grounds of the ranch they had not a 
doubt of the truthfulness of the reports they had heard 
through various sources, and confirmed by Bill Thorn- 
ton. 

But when they beheld for the first time the face and 
form of Blanton, the half breed desperado, they were 
pretty well convinced that, if he had any backings he 


256 


THE COMPACT. 


would in no wise comply with their request. The noted 
prairie outlaw was before them, and they saw by the 
wolfish leer in the dark eyes that peered out from the 
mass of black hair and bushy black whiskers that he was 
in no friendly mood, but they did not ascribe it to the 
fact that the criminal class always have that dangerous, 
suspicious leer in their eyes. 

That Blanton had been expecting a visit of this kind 
since the news of the conflict at Barker’s had reached 
him was very likely, but this had not entered the minds 
of the regulators either, who were in too excited a frame 
of mind to do any deep thinking. They were working 
on the force plan at present, and had a dim idea that 
the prairie freebooter was too wary to be tripped by 
strategy. 

“ What’s wanted, gentlemen,” he demanded in brisk, 
abrupt tones, affecting indifference. 

As he spoke the dogs renewed their barking, and he 
uttered a sharp command to them which had an effect 
that startled the party of regulators. The dogs instantly 
turned tails and scampered back to the house, disclosing 
the fact that the owner of this establishment was pos- 
sessed of a dominant, forceful nature that commanded 
strict obedience, and they knew that it would require a 
pretty hot fire to melt him into subjection to their de- 
mands. 

All the force of character which he had been credited 
with was evident to their ocular senses now that they 


THE COMPACT. 


257 


faced him in the fast dissolving twilight and on his own 
premises. 

“We have come here for the purpose of learning 
the location of a certain number of stock that, we have 
been informed, was sold to you by certain roving stock 
dealers,” was the opening speech performed by Alex. 
Dalton. 

“ Certain roving stock dealers,” reiterated the ranch- 
man mockingly, while the leer in his eyes deepened. 
“Oh, come off now, what are you giving us, anyhow.?” 

By the affronting manner of the old reprobate the 
regulators conceived the idea that he was either trying to 
bluff them or was prepared to resist. But Dalton, who 
acted as spokesman for the party, not dismayed, con- 
tinued his exhortation : 

“We mean by certain roving stock dealers that you 
have bought from a number of thieving raiders fifty head 
of two-year-old steers which we want you to relinquish. 
Don’t squirm when we tell you the circumstances, Mr. 
Blanton. We know your character well, and we have 
concluded that the powerful number of cattle and horses 
on your ranch is evidence that they do not all rightfully 
belong to you. These fifty two-year-old steers were 
stolen from my ranch up in Missouri by a number of 
rustlers that you have been harboring and receiving the 
stolen stock from. You needn’t try to hide anything 
from us, for we know the lay of the land as well as we 
want to.” 


258 


THE COMPACT. 


Blanton made no answer to this, but held up his 
lantern for a close scrutiny by its light of the men. All 
of them instinctively assumed their sternest expression 
and remained silent while the furtive gaze of the ranch- 
man was bent upon them, and a thrill of savage joy shot 
through their sturdy frames as they saw by the convulsive 
twitching of the grizzled visage that Dalton’s enunciation 
was beginning to tell. But the ranchman evidently 
desired to keep from betraying his emotions to the gaze 
of the party, for after a hasty and furtive scrutiny of their 
countenances he lowered his lantern. 

Pretty soon his gruff voice, no doubt the gruffness 
assumed, broke the silence : 

“What does it matter to me where the cattle came 
from, I paid good money for them, and do you think I 
am going to give them up without I receive their equival- 
ent.? Ah, gentlemen, why do you come here threatening 
me thus .? If I gave up all the stock that was claimed 
by parties coming here I would soon have none left. The 
Indians have been running off some of our cattle, and 
when we demand a restoration, or call on the govern- 
ment for protection, we are hooted at and abused from 
all sides. Now will you have the goodness to get away 
and leave us in peace, or will we have to eject you .?” 

“We!” hissed Dalton. “Whom do you mean by 
‘we’ .?” 

“ I mean that I and my cowboys are getting tired of 
listening to the complaints of parties in search of stolen 


THE COMPACT. 


259 


stock, and have concluded to eject them without cere- 
mony,” replied Blanton. 

“ Then you have not heard of the fate that overtook 
certain of your friends and supporters announced 
Dalton. 

“Yes, I have heard,” replied Blanton suddenly, “but 
that does not frighten me in the least.” But his voice 
quavered and his frame shook as he spoke. 

“In short, you absolutely refuse to comply with our 
demands.^” answered Alex, sternly. 

“What are your demands.?” came the reply quick 
and acrimonious. 

“ That you relinquish the cattle I have described and 
four head of horses, belonging to my friend here, that 
were taken along with the cattle,” answered Dalton 
firmly. 

“ How do you know I have the four horses you men- 
tioned .?” replied the ranchman steadily. 

“Because one, whom I will not mention, has been 
here and has taken a few notes, ” assured Dalton. “Now 
do you understand me .?” he continued, assuming a bellig- 
erent tone and leaning forward in his saddle to note the 
effect of his words. “We want those fifty head of 
steers and the four head of horses, and we are going to 
have them, too.” 

The ranchman stepped back a step or two, but sud- 
denly retraced his steps and ejaculated furiously: “Then, 


26 o 


THE COMPACT. 


by all the gods in heaven and all the devils in hell, you’ll 
have to take them over our dead bodies if you want 
them. Clear out now, or you might suddenly get your 
hides perforated by a little shower of lead. Begone 
with you, I say,” he hissed in a high pitched voice. 
“Out of my sight and off of my place and hie away 
back to the states. Don’t come nosing around here in 
hopes of any profit, or by thunder you’ll wish you had 
stayed at home and not bearded the lion in his den.” 

Alex, drew his revolver, and assuming a threatening 
attitude, exclaimed: “Just let me have that lantern a 
minute or two, Blantie. I’d advise you to be careful 
how you swear. Don’t swear by the gods lest they de- 
stroy you, nor swear by the devils, who are no more 
substantial than you are. Here Jeff, hold the lantern up 
so I can read the proclamation,” he added when Blanton 
tremblingly obeyed his request. 

Dalton drew out the paper and Jeff held the light so 
the rays fell obliquely upon it, and Dalton, with a menac- 
ing look at the ranchman, commenced to read the ulti- 
matum : 

“Resolved, by the undersigned, citizens of Missouri, 
Kansas and Indian Territory, that, as they know certain 
stock to be in the possession of William E. Blanton, and 
as the said citizens desire said William E. Blanton to 
restore the said stock to their former owners, be it 
further resolved that, as it is clear to the comprehension 
of said undersigned citizens that said William E. Blanton 


THE COMPACT. 


261 


is the friend and harborer of the criminal caste of the 
surrounding states, that if he does not comply with the 
request of said owners and restore the stolen stock we, 
the undersigned citizens, will burn his ranch to the 
ground and hang him to the nearest tree.” 

Then Dalton proceeded to read off the names while 
the others craned their necks to obtain a better view of 
the ranchman’s visage, to note the effect of the ulti- 
matum. 

But if Blanton felt any serious alarm at the docu- 
ment itself it was augmented by the number of names 
that backed it, and he stood as motionless as a Pagan 
idol, his dark, wolfish eyes glowering and glinting like 
the eyes of a panther. 

Jeff, who was holding the light, looked at him, and 
to his individual gaze he looked exactly like the pictures 
of the old Italian brigands in one of Jack Dalton’s story 
books. 

By this time it was pitch dark, and the party was 
anxious to have the interview over and return to the 
tavern. They wondered if the remainder of the Fox 
Valley outfit had become alarmed and gone back to the 
mountains when the news of the terrible doom of their 
companions reached them. 

It was very probable that they had gone away some- 
where or Blanton would not have shown any signs of 
wilting at all, with the knowledge of a substantial force 


262 


THE COMPACT. 


at his back, which would, of course, be under his sway 
and fight on his side if it came to open hostilities. 

But whatever Blanton knew about his ability to 
frustrate their designs it was evident that he was thor- 
oughly cowed when the ultimatum and the ponderous 
backing it had attached to it was read to him. 

When it was over and Dalton put away the paper 
the party remained silent, letting the mind of the ranch- 
man digest its contents. 

However terrible the other words contained in the 
ultimatum were to his comprehension, the words “hang 
him to the nearest tree ” were the most terrifying of them 
all, and the old reprobate’s mental vision formed a pic- 
ture of his lifeless body swinging in the air and the 
carrion birds picking at his sightless eyes. 

Already the spectres of the past were crowding them- 
selves into his terrified fancy, and the ghosts of his sins 
and crimes were coming before him like a swarm of 
mocking demons, and he roused himself from the lethargy 
that enveloped him and paced to and fro about the yard 
in a frantic endeavor to collect his senses. 

The regulators watched him with anxious, furtive 
glances, and when he succeeded in calming his perturbed 
fancy he came back to the gate and again leaned his 
body on the post. 

“Well, what do you say about it asked Dalton 
quietly. 


THE COMPACT. 


263 


“ Go back where you came from,” answered the 
ranchman in a submissive tone, “and to-morrow morn- 
ing we will be there with the horses and cattle you men- 
tioned. I yield to your demands because I believe it is 
cheaper to lose that small amount than to lose the whole. 
You are stopping at Barker’s, aren’t you 

“Yes, we are stopping at Barker’s, ” replied Dalton, 
much elated at the success of the interview. “ We will 
go back there to-night and expect your arrival there be- 
fore noon to-morrow with the stock. If you fail us then 
you must take the consequences. Now, let us be going, 
boys ; its getting mighty dark to be out here in such a 
place as this and not be acquainted with the country.” 

So the party rode back to Barker’s, well satisfied with 
the result of the trip, and found their companions still 
up and awaiting their return. When they related in 
detail the interview the others were satisfied that the 
lawless element had received a flagellation that would 
hold them in check for a long time. 

Promptly at nine o’clock the next morning the wait- 
ing regulators were gratified by hearing in the distance 
the shouts of men and the twangs of cattle-whips, and 
about a quarter of an hour from that time the drove was 
driven into the corral at the foot of the knoll, and the 
last obstacle in the way of the return trip was obliterated. 
Blanton was not with the drove, but sent a message to 
Barker which read thus : 

“Use your influence in my behalf, and I promise 


264 


THE COMPACT. 


you I will do my best to reform and lead an honest life. 
I am tired of harboring criminals and thieves that 
threaten to bring down everlasting destruction on me 
and mine.” “ W. Blanton.” 

“That shows plainly that our campaign has not been 
fruitless,” remarked Dick Plummer philosophically. 

So the work of reconstruction was over and the 
regulators were longing once more to be at home with 
their loved ones. 

When all preparations were made, they bade Barker 
and his family good bye and rode away, driving the 
cattle before them and leading Carlton’s horses back to 
the native heath they had been taken from. 

The two bank robbers were turned over to the 
authorities at Girard, and the reward of a hundred 
dollars for each man was paid to Bill Thompson as a re- 
ward for his services. 

No one was disposed to look upon him in the light 
of a traitor, for he had only acted the part of a detec- 
tive in his operations, and was well satisfied with the 
result. 

He and Charlie McKasson were engaged by the 
Dalton’s to take the place of the two range riders that 
had been killed while defending their charge, and Bill 
was glad of the chance thus offered of being away from 
the Fox Valley vicinity for a season. 

Sam Riley and his men took charge of the two 


THE COMPACT. 


265 


horse thieves and transported them back to the scene of 
their crime, where they were convicted and sentenced to 
a short term in the penitentiary. 

The results of the uprising were satisfactory to the 
vigilantes, and also to the populace who had been 
terrorized by the lawless element for so long, and the 
storm of wrath was subsiding into a restful and quiet 
calm all over the country, and business was resumed 
without fear of molestation. 


CHAPTER XIII. 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 

While the incidents narrated in the last chapter-s were 
happening we will relate the adventures, of the two spies 
that were sent into the Fox Valley neighborhood. The 
regulators had decided upon this plan to ascertain how 
soon the robbers tired of the protection of Blanton and 
flew back to the wild, woody copses, the dark pine woods 
and secret caves of the mountains. Some of them 
argued that the freebooters never stayed long in the Ter- 
ritory, but always came back by rail to Springfield, where 
they would be safe from recognition, and from thence 
back to the valley after they had had a glorious old time 
seeing the sights of the city. Thus these two bold ad- 
venturers were sent to headquarters to watch for their 
return. 

Sunday evening about five o’clock two men on horse- 
back rode up to Hobson’s Tavern and dismounted. The 
old man, thinking perhaps they were some of the Alton 
crew returning, went out and, closely scrutinizing their 
faces for an instant, exclaimed : 

“Hello Danny, yer back again, eh.?” and the old 
man’s voice had a joyous tremor in it. 

“Yes, Uncle Zack, I’m back again,” replied Dan 

(266) 


In an instant two rifles were thrown to burly shoulders. 















A NIG«T IN FOX VALLEY. 


269 


Ferguson, extending his hand, which was grasped by 
the old man in a hearty handshake. “How are you 
cornin’ on now. Uncle 

“ About as pert as could be expected for an ole man,” 
responded Hobson, looking askance at the other man. 

“Let me introduce my friend,” said Dan. “Mr. 
Hobson, Mr. Washburn:” 

The two shook hands, and then the old man said : 

“ Wall, I guess yer back on the same kind o’ busi- 
ness, Dan, ain’t ye 

“That’s it, that’s it. Uncle Zack,” assured Ferguson, 
with repeated nods of the head. “Now, what’s the 
chance for lodgin’ here to-night 

“ Welcome to Hobson’s Tavern, my friends, but ye 
see by the big sign yonder that the welcome don’t perseed 
altogether from philanthropic motives.” 

A hearty laugh was indulged in at this sally, which 
was aided by the comical expression of the old man’s 
face, after which the trio entered the gate. 

“Set down here. Uncle Zack, I want to talk to you 
a little,” said Ferguson. 

The three sat down in some rustic chairs under the 
catawba trees. 

Dan Ferguson had not been a circus clown for five 
years not to have his impromptu manner improved. 
Possessing a naturally fertile mind he had no trouble in 


270 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


presenting in a respectable form any request. One of 
his neighbors remarked that he saw more with the one 
eye he possessed than a great many people did with two. 
Dan was not at all vain, though, and his hold, frank and 
unobtrusive manners made him scores of friends. Of 
medium height, square build and muscular, he was as 
strong as a horse, as active as a bird, and as fearless as 
a lion. Circus life was very charming till he saw the 
pretty face of Miss Washburn, a cousin of the man that 
was with him, and then, in c»rder to obtain her for a life 
partner, he was forced to give up the circus business. 
So he settled down on the Washburn ranch, where he 
lived contented enough till the raiders began to tear 
things up. He was deputy sheriff a year or two before 
the war and helped break up an illicit distillery down in 
the pine woods near the mouth of Fox Run. That was 
how he made the acquaintance of Hobson. 

“Now, Uncle Zack, don’t you think it’s about time 
to put a stop to this business ^ You’ve heard of the last 
exploit, I guess 

“Oh, you know I have,” replied Hobson, in a tone 
that left no doubt but what he knew all the facts of the 
case. “I think it is about time, as you say, but how 
the devil are you goin’ to do it and he laughed a little 
contemptuous laugh that grated somewhat on Ferguson’s 
nerves. 

“Where there’s a will there’s a way, Uncle Zack. 
We haven’t had the determination or we would have 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


271 


squelched them before now. This time we’re not going 
to depend on the law.” 

“Wall, I reckon yer a leetle more than half right 
thar,” assented Hobson. “ But what I can’t see into is 
how is yer a goin’ ter ketch ’em.” 

“Oh, we already have the most of them spotted, you 
know. We are going to form an alliance with the 
stranglers, now that we are in the same notion as they 
are.” ' 

The stranglers knew nearly all of the gang, and as 
they had never had any faith in getting justice through 
the tedious routine of trial by law they had adopted the 
rope as their chief article of execution, and whenever 
they succeeded in capturing any of the raiders they were 
quietly put out of the way. However, they were out- 
numbered nearly three to one, and they had never 
secured any outside help because outsiders did not 
know the cruel wrongs they had undergone, and there- 
fore had no sympathy with their course of action. 

Hobson reflected a moment. 

“ Wall, go ahead then, Danny, I am with ye. Only 
remember and don’t have any trouble around my place 
here. ” 

So the matter was discussed until the sun sank behind 
the mountain tops and the ponderous old bell warned 
them that supper was waiting. 

So it was settled that the two should lodge there till 
they had obtained the knowledge they sought. 


2/2 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


Uncle Zack and his two guests were quietly eating 
their supper and engaged in talking over small topics. 
The sun had disappeared, the mpon peeped out of its 
Eastern bed, while no signs of any approaching storm 
was discerned. Everything was quiet about the place 
with the exception of the two hostlers shouting mildly to 
one another from the barn yard, where they were engaged 
in doing their chores. The chill November air was not 
at all enticing to night travelers, and the two hostlers 
were jubilant at the lightness of their task. 

“ We won’t have much to do to-night,” remarked one 
of them. 

“Better not count yer chickens afore the’re hatched,” 
said the one that had been there longest. “I’ve knowed 
them to come in here at midnight lots of times.” 

“Wall, I reckon I am a leetle mistaken.” 

“Do you hear that.?” and he pointed down the road 
from whence came the sound of hoof beats. 

The other one nodded knowingly. Then he said, 
with an air of importance: “It might be that we’ll 
have trouble here. ” 

“Why.?” asked the other in an alarmed voice. 

“Well, ye see they fight like everything here some- 
times. ” 

“Who .?” asked the other. 

“Tom Alton an’ his men, and Nick Alton an’ his 


men. 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


273 


The other looked astonished, then he said : 

‘ ‘ Are they enny kin 

•‘Yes, cousins.” 

‘ ‘ Why the devil are they fightin’ each other then 

“ ’Cause one’s an outlaw an’ tother’s a regulator.” 

“ Whew !” ejaculated the other, who was a tender- 
foot from Eastern Virginia. “Now I don’t happen to 
know what a reglator is.” 

The other gave a contemptuous sniff and explained 
the meaning of the word as he knew it. 

By this time the two horsemen had made their ap- 
pearance, and the two hostlers went to the gate to 
receive their horses. The one that had been there 
longest recognized them as Andy Thomas and Jay Tal- 
bott, two of the regulators. Before they took a step 
toward the house they asked who was there. 

“Two men from over that way,” replied the hostler, 
pointing West. 

“Good,” said one of the new arrivals with a nod. 
He was a tall, powerful man with a long brown beard,- 
flashing blue eyes and regular features. A long blue 
overcoat buttoned closely, and a wide-rimmed gray felt 
hat was all that could be discerned in regard to his attire. 
This was Andy Thomas, first lieutenant of the Fox 
Valley stranglers. 

The other man was tall but not of so powerful a build. 
Smooth shaven, except a heavy black mustache, he was 


274 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


dark skinned and a pair of mournful black eyes seemed 
to. look one through and through. He wore a dark gray 
overcoat and a hat like that of his companion, and was 
not very talkative, as he let his companion do the most 
of it, scarcely speaking utiless addressed. This was Jay 
Talbott, secand lieutenant of the stranglers. 

The two entered the house and were welcomed by 
the old man, who introduced them to his other two 
guests. Then they sat down to supper, never hinting 
what their errand was there. 

After supper Thomas sought out Hobson and asked 
if he knew the errand of the other two. On being in- 
formed entirely to his satisfaction, Thomas sought the 
other two men, who were quietly enjoying a smoke in 
the repository, which had formerly been the barroom. 

“I want to speak with you two men in private,” he 
explained in a friendly way. 

‘ ‘ All right, ” said Dan. ‘ ‘ I have an idea that you are 

striking us square. ” 

“I think so myself,” returned Thomas.. “You see 
Uncle Zack told us of your errand and we thought it 
might be a good thing for you if you were under our 
protection.” 

“ Under your protection ? Who are you, then 

“Well, we won’t ask you to believe us. Will you 
believe Uncle Zack 

“Yes. ” 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


275 


“Well, go to him and ask him what clan we belong 
to,” said Thomas with a good natured grin. ' 

Dan did as requested. He came back with a satisfied 
expression on his face. 

“I see you are satisfied, ” remarked Thomas, emit- 
ting a keen puff of smoke from his cigar. “Sit down 
and I will tell you something that will do you good. 

“You see, it’s this way,” he began. “ There is a 
fellow living over here in the valley named Martin who 
was suspected by us of being a member of the gang. 
He was also suspected of being a member of our party 
by the outlaws, but as he lived among them he thought 
perhaps they would do him harm if he did not join them. 
You know that is generally the tactics of that sort to 
force all the honest people they can beyond the pale of 
the law so as to obtain a larger membership. Now, the 
bank robbery at Girard, Kansas, would no doubt be laid 
on the James gang if this Joe Martin had not had his 
horse shot from under him and been captured.” 

“There’s been a bank robbery lately then. I never 
heard of it,” exclaimed Dan excitedly. 

“Yes, at Girard, Kansas. As I was saying, Martin 
was captured and gave the whole shooting match away. 
It’s my opinion that he will come back here in a day or 
two, and you know what will happen if they succeed in 
effecting his capture.” 

“Exactly,” replied Dan. 
that if you can, I guess.” 


“ You are goin’ to prevent 


276 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


‘ ‘ If possible, yes. This man will be a trump card . 
in our hands if he knows he has plenty of backing.” 

“That’s right,” assented both Dan and Washburn 
with pleased excitement. 

Other minor details were talked over, and then Dan 
asked Thomas how to conduct himself in order to escape 
capture by the outlaws. 

“If you are traveling after night and meet with any 
one, just speak to them as though you were a total 
stranger and knew nothing about the region or its in- 
habitants. If they are any of the gang they won’t molest 
you nor challenge you unless you are around their dwell- 
ings. If you happen to meet with any of our men they 
will challenge you, and if that should happen I will pro- 
vide you with a passport that will make things all right.” 

Thomas ceased speaking, and drew from his vest 
pocket about half a dozen cards on which was printed in 
large black letters “ O. H.” The cards were about two 
inches wide by three in length. 

Taking a pencil from his pocket he wrote something 
beneath the big letters on one of the cards and handed 
it to Dan. While Dan was looking at it he did likewise 
to another card and passed it to Washburn. 

“What is that What does it mean exclaimed 
Dan. 

“ Can’t you read it 

“Yes.” 

“Well, if you aren’t shrewd enough to guess I can’t 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


277 


tell you,” replied Thomas with a solemn shake of his 
head. 

Both Jim Washburn and Dan Ferguson were shrewd 
men, but racking their brains as they might they could 
not solve that puzzle. 

Before retiring for the night it was agreed to scout 
the country roundabout for each night during the follow- 
ing week to prevent Martin from falling into the clutches 
of the desperados. Thomas felt sure that he would return, 
for he knew that he would not stay away from his family 
any longer than he could help, as the villains might take 
a notion to avenge themselves on them if they thought 
he was afraid to come back there. 

Monday night came and nothing of importance had 
happened. It was the programme for the regulators to 
go in pairs so as not to excite suspiciojn. Jim and Dan 
saw no one that night, and they concluded that the out- 
laws were not stirring out much at present. So they 
came back and met Thomas there again and reported. 
Thomas also reported things quiet, and stated his belief 
that something would transpire before the middle of the 
week. 

Tuesday night came, and still no news of Martin’s 
approach. Perhaps that individual would have hastened 
home with a lighter heart had he known the kindly in- 
terest that was being taken in his welfare. Thomas still 
clung to his belief, and Wednesday night dragged slowly 
by till the arrival of the stage from the West. 


278 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


The postofhce was kept by Hobson, and when the 
stage arrived Andy Thomas was there waiting the arrival 
of Tabott. 

Now, Andy Thomas was as shrewd a detective as 
ever lived. That is, he was so by nature but not by 
profession. He carried no badges to show his occupa- 
tion, but he did carry a small magnifying glass with 
which he had done considerable damage. 

In about two minutes after the arrival of the stage a 
man on horseback rode up to the gate. Thomas knew 
him at sight in spite of his disguise. It was Ben Har- 
per, who dismounted with evident fear at sight of the 
three men who were sitting in the rustic chairs. 

The man went in and called for his mail. A letter 
was handed him, which he received with evident signs of 
pleasure. He tore it open at once and started out to his 
horse, reading it. It was either very lengthy or very 
hard to read, for he did not raise his head till he got to 
the gate, at which he paused, lifted the latch, stepped 
through and giving a quick glance at the three under the 
trees shut the gate, turned his back to the others and 
stood stock still reading. 

With a warning nudge to the other two, Thomas 
quickly produced his glass, after which he darted behind 
one of the catawbas and threw his glass down on the 
paper. No go. The paper was being held too slanting 
for him to read, although it was otherwise all right. A 
moment’s delay and all would be lost. Stepping noise- 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


279 


essly on the grass he approached nearer to the outlaw’s 
position, luckily without giving alarm. Harper only 
stood about a yard from the fence and between the hitch- 
rock and his horse. 

Advancing with a catlike stealth, Thomas came with- 
in a few feet of the fence and again threw his glass 
down on the paper. Harper stood with his elbow rest- 
ing on the hitch rock, holding the paper just high enough 
for Thomas to read the following, which was written in 
a tolerably legible hand, although the spelling was 
poor : 

“ Deer Paw : — I wil endever to rite yu a few lines to 
let you know how we ar getting along. We ar all well 
at present and hope those few lines will find yu all the 
saim. Well Paw I had bad luck tother day. I was up 
to town and was passing the shooting field up thair when 
I kommenced joking thee boys about practicing. Then 
that sun uv a gun of a Jack Dalton fired at me an shot 
the loer end ov my eer of. Damn him, I’ll make it hot 
fer him, see if I don’t. 

Well Paw, I hav bin scoutin’ a little an’ hav fownd 
out that J. M. is camming in. He will be thair about 
Wednesday night. I think he will be apt to cum in of 
a night so as not to be discovered. So no more at pres- 
ent. Good by, from your sun Milt Harper.” 

These few lines were written on one side of a sheet 
of foolscap which was clinched in the middle. The top 


28 o 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


of it lopping over so as to be nearly unintelligible to 
Thomas. However, he managed to read it before the 
outlaw did and cautiously crept back to the other two 
who were anxiously awaiting the termination. Jim and 
Dan were aware that he had made an important dis- 
covery by the expression of his countenance. 

“Well, what is it asked Dan in an undertone, when 
Harper had gone a little distance. 

“ It’s from Milt,” explained Thomas, “and he gives 
us the information we desire.” 

‘ ‘ You don’t say so,” exclaimed Dan, rather more loud 
then it was safe. 

“Yes, he wrote that Martin was coming in, and would 
be in to-night.” 

“To-night r 

“ Yes, and we must be on the lookout.” 

Just as the supper bell rang Talbott appeared and 
was straightway informed of the lucky bit of news they 
had captured. 

After supper the regulators took their departure, feel- 
ing sure that something would transpire. There was not 
much chance of running across Martin after he struck 
the highlands East of Brush Creek, a small tributary of 
Fox Run, and emptying into that stream just a little 
below where the pine woods set in. That was owing to 
the fact that he knew all of the short cuts to his home 
and would not follow the high road, which took a some- 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


281 


what tortuous route, making many long detours in all 
directions, till it began the descent toward Hobson’s 
Tavern. He certainly would know that the outlaws 
would be out looking for him, but he also knew that the 
regulators would be swarming like bees looking for the 
return of the gang. night came chilly, but no signs 

of any approaching storm were yet visible except a light 
plexiform strata of clouds that hung athwart the sky, 
obscuring the moon, but it was still light enough to 
recognize any one. Up the slope they went with rapid, 
untiring speed. The road was in excellent shape, as that 
time of year was about the only time they were anyways 
smooth, but the sparks, knocked out of the small bould- 
ers by the horses’ feet, added somewhat to the unpleas- 
ant part of the expedition. Finally, when the top of 
the slope was reached, they halted and listened cautiously 
for any suspicious sounds. ^ 

Five minutes elapsed and no sound reached their 
listening ears. Everything was as quiei as the grave. 
The moon was struggling frantically to break from the 
cloud that enveloped it. At last Thomas gave the order 
to move on. * 

The spurs flew to the horses’ flanks and the heavy 
thuds began once more to strike when Talbott suddenly 
checked his horse. 

“Hist,” he said with a warning gesture, and the 
others also checked up. “I hear a pack of hounds 
running.” 


282 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


“ You do, ” said Thomas. “ Which direction 

“That way,” replied Talbott, pointing Southward. 

Sure enough, the faint yelping of a pack of hounds 
was heard by all. Dan was at a loss to know what a 
pack of hounds had to do with the case. So was Jim. 
However, their good judgment told them not to concern 
themselves, and it was not long ere they were enlight- 
ened. 

Nearer and nearer came the hounds and more audible 
became the yelps. It was evident that the hounds were 
pressing their prey pretty close by the incessant, long 
drawn yelps that grew plainer and plainer to the ears of 
the adventurers. 

Suddenly a terrific yell rent the. night air, and the one 
that emitted it could not have been over two hundred 
yards distant. 

“ It’s Mike and Ben,” declared Thomas in an under- 
tone. 

“Mike who.?” asked Dan. 

“Mike Rains,” replied Thomas. “Nobody but him 
could yell like that.” 

Thomas dismounted and came up to the < side of 
Dan’s horse. 

“Now, boys,” he said hurriedly, “we’d better dis- 
mount and take the horses to the cover of the woods 
where they won’t be likely to-be seen. Then one of us 
will, creep up on them and watch them, for they are 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


283 


out after larger game than foxes and coons, its my 
opinion.” 

Without a word of dissent, this was agreed to, and 
in about three minutes Thomas had left his companions 
and was cautiously wending his way toward the spot 
from whence came the yelling. Advancing with a cat- 
like step, he followed the road for about a hundred yards, 
then struck down the head of a canyon where he be- 
lieved the hunters were concealed. He found it a some- 
what difficult task after he had gone about forty yards, 
for numerous big boulders protruded themselves amid a 
thicket of the scraggy dogwood brush that infest the 
head of the Ozark canyons. Many rough scratches in 
the face did he get and many a bad stumble also, but his 
patient persistance at last got him over this place, al- 
though he had been nearly on the point of venting his 
feelings in a volley of oaths several times. But he was 
disappointed in the thought that he would have good 
walking when he had gone twenty yards further down, 
for here one of the most awful looking box canyons that 
ever mortal eyes beheld yawned up in front of him. 

Turning briskly around he took a step forward on the 
back track, when his ears caught the unmistakable sound 
of voices. But he could not tell which direction the 
sounds came from, and he stood with bated breath try- 
ing to locate the speakers. He did not understand a 
word that was said, but that was not of much import- 
ance. The hounds had by this time lost the trail, as 


284 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


only a few faint yelps were audible. Still it was evident 
that they were close at hand, for their yelping, although 
feeble, was evidently not far off. Thomas stood for 
about three minutes listening, and at the end of that 
time the voices had ceased and the hounds again struck 
the trail, letting out a chorus of yelps that made the 
welkin ring, and from the closeness of the sounds they 
had evidently jumped their prey only a tew hundred 
yards off. 

Suddenly a rustle of the leaves that lay thickly em- 
bedded on the bottom of the wide, flat drean startled 
the listener. Casting a quick, furtive glance from whence 
the sound came, he saw a large red fox. The animal 
went on up the edge of the bush and disappeared, 
seemingly without discovering him, but he had not been 
long concealed from the sight of the man ere a shot 
awoke the echoes of the gorge, and the hounds came 
tearing up with long, bounding leaps and furious bark- 
ings. 

Thomas, fearing discovery, dropped quickly into the 
thick carpet of leaves and listened to the noise going on 
in the dogwood thicket. Where could the men have 
been that fired the shot ? Had they discovered him ? 
These were the thoughts that flitted through his brain 
while waiting for the hunters to quiet the hounds and 
depart, as he intended to follow them. But the heart of 
the regulator did not quail at the ruffianly vociferations 
that were emitted, and a few minutes later he was fol- 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


285 


lowing the hunters with a stealthy step toward the high- 
road. 

On they went till they reached the road, then a con- 
versation took place in a low, guarded tone. Thomas, 
being concealed behind a tree within ten paces of them, 
understood the most of it and satisfied himself that they 
were out for no other purpose than the capture of Joe 
Martin. 

The two ruffians, spying a log by the roadside, went 
to it and sat down thereon. A few minutes more dragged 
slowly by, and the moon, struggling to break from be- 
hind the clouds, emitted sudden, fitful flashes of light, 
while the outlaws remained silent, and no sound save the 
low spasmodic lolling of the hounds was heard. It was 
while waiting thus that Thomas made up his mind to 
pursue another course than the one he had formerly in- 
tended to. Why not follow the two outlaws to their 
abode, now that they had them spotted. Perhaps the 
depredators were expecting the capture of Martin that 
night, and had in waiting a council called together for 
the purpose of condemning him to death, as that was 
their method of punishing traitors. By a majority vote 
they were either condemned or acquitted, but every one 
knew there was a very slender chance of a traitor being 
acquitted. Therefore Thomas was certain that if Mar- 
tin was captured that night the dawn of the following 
day would find his dead body left jn some wild, lonely 
spot, a prey for wild animals and carrion birds. 


286 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


The hounds having regained their needful recupera- 
tion, were lying quietly around their masters, while the 
hunters kept quiet, and Thomas, noting the fact that 
they gazed frequently down the road, was now certain 
that they were looking for the unfaithful member of their 
unlawful, unholy and bloodthirsty brotherhood. 

Hark ! Whose step was that, as fitful and varying 
as the sudden flashes of moonlight ? Nearer and nearer 
it approached, till at last the slow, measured tread of a 
weary pedestrian startled the listeners into active wake- 
fulness. Yes, sure enough there was Martin, unaware of 
the presence of either friend or enemy, walking slowly 
along with a weary, dragging step, his hands in his over- 
coat pockets and an anxious expression on his pathetic 
face. A few more steps and he was near the lurking 
forms in the shadows. 

At that instant the moon shot from behind the cloud 
and Joe, as if by instinct of coming or, present danger, 
looked and saw the two raiders. In an instant two 
rifles were thrown to two burly shoulders, two eyes ran 
along two gun barrels, and a harsh voice cried out : 

“Ah, you sneakin’ dog, you made it in, have you.? 
Don’t try to resist or it’ll be worse fer ye. Go ’n disarm 
him, Mike.” 

Joe was completely nonplused for a moment, not a 
word escaping his lips as visions of his sorrowing family 
flashed through his fancy, sending a shiver of mixed fear 
and self disgust through his frame. Rains came up and 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


287 


demanded his weapons, and Joe felt beneath his over- 
coat and drew forth his pistol and handed it over. 

“ Is that all asked Rains sternly. 

“Yes.” 

“Well, if you have any more you’d better not 
attempt to use them on us. Let’s see,” he continued, 
running his hand in his overcoat pocket. We’ll fix you 
so you will be powerless to use them if you had a dozen.” 
And pulling a small, stout cord about half a yard long 
from his pocket he rudely seized Joe’s hands as if to bind 
them. 

“Hold on, Mike, you can’t do that,” exclaimed Joe 
in a forceful tone, and he jerked his hands loose. 

“None of that,” hissed the outlaw. “ Hold them 
hands or you’re a dead man,” and a huge hunting knife 
glistened in the moonlight. 

Joe obeyed, and all hopes of seeing his beloved ones 
again left him. If they succeeded in bringing him before 
the council he would certainly be voted a traitor and 
condemned to be shot. Well, he had been a poor pro- 
tector to his family anyhow, and he would not be much 
of a loss to them, and they would never know what had 
been his fate, and for that part he was thankful. 

A few minutes later the two outlaws had started down 
the road with their captive in front, while following with 
his stealthy step came Andy Thomas. 

Thomas had some difficulty in finding his comrades. 


288 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


and he greatly feared that the outlaws would escape with 
their captive and plunge into some of the numerous by 
roads that meandered up and down the mountain sides 
and which Thomas was but meagerly acquainted with. 
But at last he saw the dark form of the horses in the 
shadow of a thick clump of hickory, and making his way 
to them he said when he had got within a few yards of 
them : 

“Come, boys, be quick now.” 

“What’s up asked the others in chorus. 

“They’ve got him and we must follow them, and I 
will tell you more of my plan while we are going. Quick 
now. ” 

A moment later, and the four were mounted and 
riding down the road, while Thomas explained the plan 
he had laid to prevent Joe from being killed and to cap- 
ture those that were detailed to kill him. 

Thomas knew that the first right hand road led to the 
house of Ben Harper, but he was not certain that they 
could follow it owing to the numerous roads that wound 
up and down the slope, crossing and recrossing each 
other, while no one but those accustomed to them could 
tell which direction he was going without the aid of the 
sun. The moon had again hid itself behind the strata 
of clouds, and the darkness was more dense than ever 
as the thick dark spots in the cloud now obscured the 
moon, leaving it just light enough to see the road. It 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


289 


was necessary to keep at a safe distance behind the cap- 
tors and their prisoner, as the heavy tramp of the horses’ 
feet might excite suspicion. Thomas racked his brain 
for a feasible plan, and ere they had reached the first 
right hand road he had made up his mind that the best 
way to do would be to leave two of them to guard the 
horses while the other two followed the outlaws to their 
lair on foot. He knew it was not over a mile to Harper’s 
cabin, which was situated in a steep, rocky hollow, or 
gulch, that ran in a due Westerly course from the resi- 
dence of the chief of the band, which was situated in 
the main valley. And as it was generally the belief that 
the still was located somewhere near Harper’s cabin it 
was also believed that all the dark deeds of vengeance, 
such as that that was now about to be carried out, were 
committed there in that wild, lonely spot. 

The others not dissenting to the proposed plan, 
Thomas chose Dan Ferguson as his companion, believ- 
ing him to be the better fitted for a daring undertaking, 
while Washburn and Talbott were to remain in charge 
of the horses. 

Riding on down the slope about a quarter of a mile, 
they came to a cross road where there was a thick cluster 
•of pines forming a dense shadow. Here the two that 
were to stay with the horses were instructed to remain 
till one of the other two came back, which would be the 
signal for immediate and prompt action. 

But just as they were about to start they heard voices 


290 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


apparently in the direction of Hobson’s, to which place 
the eastern end of the road that crossed the one that led 
to Harper’s abode led to. And from the noise of falling 
footsteps and the number of different voices it was 
evident that there were a good many of the intruders, if 
intruders they could be called, for .Thomas seemed to 
recognize some of the voices, as he held up his hand 
with a pleased, excited expression on his face. 

“That’s Nick and some of the boys,” said he in a 
half whisper, and, as he spoke the company hove in 
sight. “Yes, that’s who it is,” he continued, and from 
the clump of pine there emitted the bold hoot of an 
owl. 

The crowd in the road stopped suddenly ; there was 
the low but audible growl of a wildcat, and again the 
hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-ah of the owl resounded over the now 
moon-bathed landscape. Then Jim and Dan were sur- 
prised to see the company, which numbered about ten, 
start for the clump of pines where they were concealed. 

Thomas was in high glee at the unexpected appear- 
ance of his comrades, and soon related to them what 
had transpired. 

All was excitement now. Their number being four- 
teen they felt safe in that respect, but knew that no time 
must be lost if they wanted to succeed in locating the 
place of Martin’s trial. Luck was with them, however, 
for before they had started on their errand they were 
surprised to see the forms of at least half a dozen men 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


29 


walking rapidly down the road. Quick as thought 
Thomas threw his glass down on them, and, aided by 
the moon, which had again burst from behind the cloud, 
he recognized the two captors, followed by three others, 
with Martin, his head bowed ancf his eyes cast dejectedly 
on the ground, walking in front. 

With a warning gesture to his companions, and mo- 
tioning to Dan to follow him, Thomas sped on after 
them, while Jim and Talbott finished the explanation 
that Thomas had begun. 

“That’s his privilege,” explained Nick Alton. “You 
see it is our rule to let those who start a trail follow it 
up, and as I have no objections to the proposed plan it 
would be folly for me to interfere now, as it might result 
in a waterhaul. Well, I am glad you outsiders have at 
last come to our rescue, and I have no doubt but what 
we will make short work of them now.” 

On and on sped the outlaws with their captive, while 
the two spies that were dogging their footsteps kept just 
close enough to keep them in sight, for it would hardly 
do to lose sight of them. Thomas concluded that it 
would be a good thing to try Martin’s grit and set him 
more firmly against his villainous associates to let him 
fall into their hands. 

The outlaws had evidently been afraid of his 
rescue by the regulators, and the two captors had 
sought out the other three, who were probably in wait- 
ing somewhere. This was evidently the cause of the 


292 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


delay and of Thomas and his companion’s getting in the 
lead. 

Ben Harper’s cabin was situated about a mile from 
that of Tom Alton, or the place where he made his home, 
with a bachelor friend named Calvin. Calvin was little 
known in the region, but it was learned that he was not 
concerned in the lawless expeditions of his neighbors, 
and as he stoutly denied that he was harboring any of 
them he was not molested. The bandit chief had been 
seen there shortly after the close of the war, but no one 
suspected his presence at Calvin’s house. It was gener- 
ally the opinion that Alton had a hiding place somewhere 
in which he was visited occasionally by Calvin, and it 
was also rumored that the robber chief had bought Cal- 
vin’s place and that Calvin was only a renter. 

Near Harper’s cabin was a small bluff, from which 
issued a spring of good, pure and cold water, and which, 
being closed in by a springhouse of huge dimensions, 
was always kept shielded from the rays of the sun. The 
cabin stood on a low bench just at the termination of 
the bluff and about twenty yards from the springhouse, 
while in front of the cabin a tiny rill, issuing from the 
spring, ran smoothly along through the grassy knolls and 
occasional patches of hazel and wild plum sprouts that 
spangled the bottom of the hollow. 

The outlaws did not discover the two men behind 
them, for they knew it was useless to try to prevent their 
being followed, and they were afraid to look back lest 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


293 


they should see the skulking forms of some of their 
enemies. They knew that if they were once safe in the 
valley they could elude pursuit and seek their hiding 
place, and as sentinels were posted out they could easily 
detect any one that attempted pursuit. 

But Thomas was well aware of this, and he was 
revolving a plan of outwitting the sentinels in his mind. 
By the time that the captors reached the cabin with their 
prisoner those that were on the watch would be looking 
for pursuers. Thomas determined to take a different 
route than the captors and make his way across the 
hollow to the top of the bluff. No one could be ex- 
pected from that direction, and the sentinels would watch 
in vain. 

With some difficulty Thomas and his companion 
reached the Western termination of the bluff, which was 
only a couple of hundred yards from the cabin. Quickly 
ascending to the crest of the bluff, they made their way 
cautiously toward the cabin, keeping well back from the 
edge of the bluff, and peering up and down the gravelly 
slope that ascended gradually to the pine-clad crest of 
the hill. A close observation disclosed two or three 
large boulders near and above the cabin, and Thomas 
concluded that there might be pickets posted there. If 
this was true how could he and his companion avoid 
them ? 

Before he had settled this matter to his satisfaction 
there came the sound of voices from the vicinity of the 


294 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


cabin, and the words were plainly understood by the two 
adventurers, for they were spoken in a loud, boisterous 
tone of voice. 

'‘Who’s there came the response to the loud Hello 
that echoed against the bluff. 

“ Mike and Ben,” came the answer in a loud ruffianly 
voice. 

Then for a few seconds there was silence, after which 
the voice broke forth again : 

“We’ve got a prisoner; come an’ look at ’im, ” said 
the first speaker. 

“Yas, we thought you’d git ’eem,” said the other, 
and there flitted across the valley a flash of light from 
the opening of the door. 

A moment more and a chorus of blood curdling yells 
and barks of dogs awoke the echoes of the valley, which 
Thomas interpreted as the outburst of joy at the capture 
of the traitor. While this was going on the two adven- 
turers spied two men poking their heads from behind 
two of the rocks, and knew it would be useless to try to 
approach in that direction. 

But no sooner did the maudlin yells of the ruffians 
cease and die away amid the dim echoes of the gulch 
than the two pickets arose from their hiding places and 
darted toward the cabin. Thomas realized that this was 
the opportunity for them, and hastily whispering some- 
thing to his companion, he moved rapidly toward the 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


295 


rocks, followed closely by Dan. Reaching the boulders 
safely, they ensconced themselves snugly behind them, 
Dan taking the one farthest up the hill. The other 
boulder lay close to the edge of the precipice and was 
much too small to conceal a man’s frame. 

Here they waited in breathless apprehension for about 
fifteen minutes, while the noise of shuffling feet was 
going on in the cabin. Thomas’ keen ears detected 
several taunting remarks hurled at the prisoner, and he 
wondered if the two pickets would return to their posts. 
The moon was now shining brightly, and it would be no 
trouble to detect their approach, and Andy, with a stern, 
set face reached in his belt and drew forth his handsome 
Bowie knife, and taking as comfortable a position as could 
be had he awaited results. 

Suddenly the door on the upper side flew open and a 
man stepped out, advancing with rapid stride toward the 
rock where Andy lay concealed, Andy was satisfied that 
he would be alone, and resolved to dispatch him in short 
order. This determination was strengthened when he 
suddenly came face to face with Mike Rains, whose dark, 
evil visage glowered in the moonlight like that of a painted 
savage. 

Andy rose swiftly to his feet, and before the ruffian 
could recover from his surprise he sunk his knife into his 
heart, and Rains, uttering a stifled yell of agony, sprang 
upon him with the fury of a lion, and clutching his throat 
nearly bore him to the earth. Andy staggered back a 


296 


A NiGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


little from the force of his antagonist’s attack, and 
striking his heel against a small sharp rock, he suddenly 
rallied and was about to clinch with the outlaw when 
Rains received a stunning blow that sent him to the 
ground with a dull, heavy thud. 

Dan had come to his assistance. 

Again the door flew open and a voice called out : 

“ What’s the matter up there, Mike 

“Nothing, only I stumped my toe and fell,” came 
the answer. 

“ Are you hurt much 

“No, no. Go about your business. I’m all right,” 
now came the response, and the door closed. 

The two regulators, with a feeling of relief, bent over 
the prostrate form of the outlaw. The blood was spurt- 
ing and gushing in a sickening torrent from the wound 
and the desperado gave no evidence of recovery, for his 
frame had ceased to quiver, the dark, blue eyes glistened 
in the moonlight with the hideous death stare, while the 
bold, restless spirit was about to leave the temple of clay 
and wing its flight to the land of shadows. Mike Rains, 
the boldest, most unscrupulous outlaw of the lot, the 
dispoiler of many happy homes, had at last gone to 
judgment, gone to join his companions in crime who 
went before him that day at Barkers. 

Leaving the body of the outlaw to stiffen in the cold 
November night air, the two adventurers silently crept 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


297 


down to the cabin. Creeping stealthily up to the win- 
dow, they looked in at the assemblage gathered therein. 
Ben Harper seemed to be the central figure, and clustered 
around him the outlaws sat, listening to Martin, who was 
making his defense in his own behalf. What surprised 
them most was the absence of Tom Alton. 

But Andy decided that it was high time that one of 
them was getting back to their comrades, who would 
doubtless be uneasy at their lengthy stay. If they de- 
layed too long the raiders would no doubt make away 
with their victim, for Andy knew by the satirical expres- 
sions of the outlaws’ faces that they were only playing 
with the poor captive. 

Cautiously making their way back to the rocks, Andy 
instructed Dan to remain in hiding there and watch the 
cabin closely so as to learn the direction they took if 
they went off to execute the captive, and to follow them 
if they did. This done, Andy proceeded to seek his 
companions, whom he found anxiously awaiting his re- 
turn, and in as few words as possible told them what had 
happened. 

The mock trial lasted till two o’clock, and all uncon- 
scious of any approaching danger, the outcasts caroused, 
smoked, played cards and cracked coarse, rude jokes. 
Harper had managed to have his wife away, and fortun- 
ately there was no one present but those of the mascu- 
line persuasion to witness the terrible things that hap- 
pened there that autumn night. 


298 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


A hushed silence ensued when the clock struck two, 
and Ben Harper, standing before the fire, pronounced 
the sentence. 

“ Now, boys, we have decided that Joe Martin, having- 
become a member of our brotherhood, has willingly be- 
trayed us in order to save his own back. We, having 
thus found him guilty of treason, have a right to. punish 
him. When the clock strikes three we will take him to 
the big walnut tree down atween here and ihe mouth of 
the holler an’ put up a good swing fer him, so he can 
take a good swing and rest from his trip. Yer perty 
ti ” 

Here the cutthroat was interrupted by the loud hoot 
of an owl by the side of the house, the door was sud- 
denly burst open, the button that fastened it was sent 
spinning across the room, and as the muffled tread of the 
regulators broke on the ears of the astonished outlaws 
the tall, powerful form of Nick Alton appeared in the 
doorway. Not a word escaped the outlaws, so astonished 
were they, and no sooner did Nick make his appearance 
than he sang out in a triumphant voice : 

No, you won’t, damn you.” 

Then, as the heavy lumbering footsteps were heard 
circling the house Nick Alton threw his revolver on Ben 
Harper, exclaiming : 

“Disciple of Jake McKandlas, die,” and the weapon 
flashed and cracked just as the door on the opposite side 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


299 


opened and a half dozen regulators, headed by Andy 
Thomas, entered with drawn revolvers. 

With a wild yell of terror Harper, who had only been 
slightly wounded, bounded to the door, giving the last 
regulator that entered a shove that sent him reeling 
against the bed in the corner, and springing from the 
door he bounded off along the foot of the bluff and dis- 
appeared. The regulators now swarmed in at both 
doors, making escape impossible, and the outlaws real- 
ized that they were in the hands of Nick Alton and his 
stranglers. Knowing full well that the regulators would 
not consign them to the law for punishment, but would 
string them up, they resolved to sell their lives as dearly 
as possible. Their number was only eight while that of 
their enemies was fourteen. 

In a jiffy the sign of resistance flew through the little 
band of cornered lawbreakers, the light was shot out, 
and the wretches, huddling together in the corner of the 
room, sent forth a shout of defiance and opened fire. 

Crack, crack, crack, went the revolvers, and the 
regulators returned a scattering volley that silenced two 
pistols, while their owners sank to the floor, their death 
groans drowned by the hoarse shouts of the combatants 
and by the incessant cracking of pistols. Joe Martin, 
who sat in a chair in the center of the room, got up and 
ran to Nick Alton as to a welcome deliverer, and Nick, 
with a quick thrust of his knife, severed the cord that 
bound Joe’s hands, and motioning*him to get out doors, 


300 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


he let him pass out, and stepping back in just as the 
outlaws opened fire, he gave orders to fire at will, and 
the’savage cracks of the pistols resounded up and down 
the valley, mingled with the yells and curses of the com- 
batants. Two of the regulators were hit, and room was 
made for them to pass out. One had been shot in the 
hand, while the other’s ribs had been glanced. The 
firing, although rapid, was nearly harmless to the regu- 
lators, but two more of the outlaws had received fatal 
wounds. When the gap was made for the wounded 
regulators to pass out one of the outlaws, with a bound, 
cleared the distance between him and the door, while 
the others followed suit. Four of their number were 
hors du combat, while the regulators were scarcely aware 
of it as yet, and the remaining ones saw in this move 
their only chance of salvation. But Nick Alton, with 
the quickness characteristic of him, hit one of the out- 
laws a stunning blow with his pistol butt that sent him 
reeling to the floor just as the others bounded up, and 
before the regulators could act two of the outlaws had 
shoved through, and, darting around the corner of the 
house, made for the foot of the bluff, while the regulators 
on the lower side sprang out and fired shot after shot 
after them till they disappeared in the immense shadow 
of the bluff. The remaining outlaw was seized by the 
regulators and securely bound, but he made but slight 
resistance. 

“We’re not going fo hurt you, young man, providing 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


301 


you’ll do what we want you to,” explained Nick, when 
they had securely bound him and set him down in a chair 
near the fire. 

^‘What du yu want me to dew, then,” queried the 
outlaw in a subdued tone. 

Wait a minute and we’ll tell you,” said Nick, and 
going to the door he called out : 

*‘Come in now, Joe, and help us clear up.” 

Joe obeyed and came in. 

“ Thank God, Mr. Alton, you’ve saved me,” he said 
in a broken voice as he extended his hand. 

Nick took the proffered hand and replied : 

“We know you’re all right, Martin.” 

“ Yes, I’m powerfully glad you believe me that way,” 
replied Joe. “I only joined them thinking that would 
be the safest plan till I could get myself and family away 
from here.” 

“Yes, we did wrong in suspecting you, but we did 
not all agree, you see,” responded Nick kindly. 

The outlaw that Nick had knocked over had not yet 
regained consciousness, so he was dragged up and laid 
with the others. Nick decided not to stay any longer 
than necessary, and after they had examined the two 
wounded outlaws and found them in a critical condition, 
they concluded to take them home, which place was only 
a half mile or so'up the gulch. These two were known 
by the majority of the regulators to be brothers-in-law, 
having married sisters and lived close together. 


302 


A NIGHT IN FOX VALLEY. 


Detailing six of his men to go on this errand, Nick 
agreed to remain till they returned, after which they 
would all repair to the house of Reub McKasson, who 
lived some half a mile from Hobson’s and who was a 
faithful member of the stranglers. There they would 
proceed to pump the prisoner, if possible. If he refused 
to disclose what they asked of him he would be hanged. 
That was explained to the outlaw before the return of 
the detail, and when they returned preparations were 
made for departure. 

Joe Martin was so rejoiced at the lucky intervention 
in his behalf that he then and there took the oath of 
allegiance to the Fox Valley stranglers, and while they 
pursued their way up the slope Andy related to him all 
the important details of the discovery, the capture and 
the rescue they had planned. 





Waiting and watching for the quivering form to become 

motionless. 


CHAPTER XIV. 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 

The first faint streaks of the coming chill November 
dawn were visible in the Eastern sky and the cocks were 
crowing to announce it when Nick and his band rode up 
to the McKasson farm yard and saw by the flickering 
light in the window that the family was astir. At least 
the one who attended to the making of fires was astir, 
for the light was that cast from the fire in the fireplace 
now blazing from the hearth, while a column of vapory 
smoke curled up against the gray light of the coming 
dawn and floated away into the etherial regions. Being 
chilled by their long exposure to the night air, the men 
were soothed at the prospect of a good bath in the warm 
cheerful blaze they knew was waiting for them, and as 
the wounded men were suffering by the exposure of their 
wounds to the night air they were anxious to get indoors. 
Dismounting and carefully assisting the wounded men, 
they secured the horses to the adjacent grove of saplings 
trimmed out for the purpose, and went into the yard. 
Nick started for the house to ask admittance, but before 
he reached it the door was opened and the voice of a boy 
called out : 

“ Who’s there 


(30s) 


3o6 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


It was Reub McKasson’s youngest son and namesake 
that Nick recognized by his voice, and he had evidently 
discovered their presence, and in a fit of boyish bravado 
had desired to know whether they were friends or 
enemies. 

“It’s me, Nick and the boys,” came the response. 
“Can we come in, Reuby We’re chilled to the marrow 
for we’ve been up all night.” 

The boy advanced to the edge of the' porch, and 
when Nick came up he exclaimed in a transport of friend- 
liness : 

“Hello, Nick, it is you sure enough. Where have 
you been all night and what have you been doing 

“Wait till we get to the fire and I’ll tell you,” replied 
Nick. 

“All right, holler at the rest of them and tell them 
to come on in,” answered the boy glancing at the group 
in the yard. 

Nick followed his instruction and the others were 
soon with them. 

“Come on into the fire,” said Reuby leading the 
way. “You must be chilled stiff if you’ve been up all 
night in this air.” 

“No, it has been warm all night till an hour or two 
ago,” explained Nick, as they filed into the room. “We 
have been having a lively time of it to-night, Reuby,’ 
and the cold isn’t the only thing we’ve struck that’s 
hurt us. ” 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


307 


Reuby stood with his hand on the door latch, and 
when the wounded men passed into the lighted room he 
saw the blood stains on their clothing and exclaimed ex- 
citedly : 

“ Jewhillikens ! I think you have^from the looks of 
things.” 

“Yes, we had an exciting time of it down at Ben’s,” 
answered Nick, “but we done lots of good for all the 
hurts we received. We’ve got some prisoners, Reuby.” 

‘ ‘ Where are they ? Over in the old cabin 

“Yes.” 

“Ain’t got Milt yet, have you.?” asked the boy with 
a knowing, manly air. 

“No, but I think we will pretty soon,” answered 
Nick as he crowded his way to the fire, followed by 
Reuby. Then when they had found an opening next to 
the cheerful, blazing fire, he turned to the boy and asked : 

“ Has Reub made it in yet .?” 

“Not yet,” replied the boy,” “but I look for him 
this morning.” 

The McKasson family was one of the latest families 
of settlers that had taken up their abode there in the 
wilderness in the late ’40’s, and, like the majority of their 
neighbors, had shunned the matted thickets and rocky 
bottomed lowland in the craggy, steep-sided valleys, and 
taken up their claim on one of the little rich prairies that 
spangle the mountain sides. A little later on they had 


3o8 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


taken up another tract, a little higher up the mountain 
side, and built a substantial double log house out of the 
nice forest of timber which covered the latter claim, and 
moved their habitation to the new place, leaving the old 
cabin where they had first lived to the mercies of the 
quadrupeds. It stood just at the corner of the prairie 
where the road went up the hill, and was not used for 
any purpose except the keeping of prisoners that the 
vigilantes had captured and whom they were undecided 
what to do with. Most of the ruffianly cabal were per- 
sonally known to them, but a few of them, who were 
new recruits, they hesitated about punishing till they had 
evidence enough to satisfy them that the culprits deserved 
death, which is the natural redress demanded by all such 
organizations as the Fox Valley stranglers. Men who 
have been harboring their wrongs for years are the most 
dangerous and formidable of all banded fighters, and are 
imbued with that puissant spirit that dominates men in 
battle when they meet in the bloody grapple, but the 
Fox Valley vigilantes were not barbarians, and as a con- 
sequence they were loth to execute in their summary way 
the recent recruits who were not too far gone to reform. 
The old cabin had been the scene of several mock law- 
suits, in which a number of the cutthroats had been con- 
demned, but all of the former prisoners had been old 
offenders and were taken away to some lonely spot and 
hanged. This time they had captured some prisoners 
that they had never seen before, and they felt certain 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


309 


that they were only green recruits that had been lured 
into the band by roseate descriptions of enormous profits 
and a good time, also entire safety from justice. 

Reub McKasson was the chief of the detective force 
of the stranglers, and it was their business to ferret out 
the crimes committed and trace them to their true per- 
petrators. But at the present time it was agreed among 
them that Milt Harper’s case should be attended to be- 
fore they — the detectives — turned their attention to any 
other noted offender or any other crime that might occur. 
Milt and his crony, a big, long legged, long armed, grue- 
some looking fellow, the one who was with him when he 
showed such a defiant spirit at the shooting match, had 
been the ones suspicioned by the vigilantes of commit- 
ting the wholesale thefts in the country between there 
and Ozark, and if they could find evidence enough to 
confirm their suspicions it would not be well with them. 
Milt had always talked as though he belonged to the so- 
called Alton gang, but his assertions to that effect were 
only a source of amusement to the regulators. They 
knew that Milt only did this in order to insure his safety, 
while he preferred the less dangerous plan of night 
pilfering to the bold methods pursued by the gang. That 
he was the head of the sneak thieves that were raiding 
the hog pens and corn cribs of the settlers was the gen- 
eral opinion of all the denizens of the region. But the 
plan he had pursued of claiming connection with the 
powerful cabal of bold freebooters under the leadership 


310 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


of Tom Alton had been successful so far, and when the 
stranglers began their operations the settlers who had 
been robbed of their possessions hoped that they would 
find and punish the thieves. 

So Reub had been gone a day or two on a scout, and 
they were awaiting his return, hoping that he would be 
successful in tracing the thefts to the true perpetrators, 
whether it be Milt and his followers or not. 

The early morning hours glided by, and the wounded 
men having been cared for with all the ability their com- 
rades and Mrs. McKasson possessed, the good lady pro- 
ceeded to prepare them a substantial breakfast. In those 
days and that country food was not much trouble to 
acquire. With plenty of fat cattle and an abundance of 
hogs that were self supporting to a great extent, to which 
was added the bountiful products of the woods in the 
shape of wild game, and the fact that the produce of the 
land was not bartered away in advance for necessaries 
that were then home wrought, all combined to make the 
acquisition of edibles an easy matter. The room that 
served as kitchen and dining room was an addition on 
the East side, constructed out of rough pine lumber and 
ceiled with the same kind that formed the weather- 
boarding. But the rough interior surface was ingenious- 
ly covered with a chaotic assortment of newspapers, 
wide leaved magazines and scraps of old worn-out 
picture books. To one unused to this rustic mode of 
beautifying the interior of the home it would naturally 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


31 I 

occur that the inmates of the home were fond of gaudy 
decorations, but such was not the case. The staring 
pictures posted over the rough plank wall in profuse array 
were thought by the matron to look better than the rough 
spot that would be left, and they were only substituted 
for lack of something better. When a person becomes 
familiar with such interior decorations they were less in- 
clined to think them gaudy. 

Mrs. McKasson was a plump, yellow-haired, blue- 
eyed little woman of five and thirty who was the ideal 
wife of the average mountaineer in traits of character as 
well as personal appearance. She was a neat house- 
keeper, a pretty fair cook and withal a cheerful com- 
panion, but was not naturally of a talkative disposition, 
although not entirely taciturn, and had a certain rever- 
ential awe and admiration for mankind in general, 
especially those who were addicted to bombastic talk. 
Of an impressionable nature and a rather dull percep- 
tion, she was not much of a judge of human nature, but 
this was doubtless the very secret of her charms. As 
she was so willing to believe all men manly and com- 
petent, as a consequence those who were already that 
way strove to be more so, while those who were not 
were far from being satisfied till they had effected some- 
thing to confirm the little woman’s belief in their manly 
qualities. It is such women as that that make the world 
better for their having been a part of it, and many a 
mountain laggard was stirred into activity and usefulness 


312 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


by the sublime faith of the little matron in their efficiency. 
But she had one strongly marked trait that she never 
hesitated to display, not even to strangers. The men 
she admired and believed in were those whose reputation 
was not smeared with crime, but the low and vicious 
class she especially detested. It never occurred to her 
to class as men the ruffianly outlaws that infested the 
country, but her mind vaguely construed them into un- 
canny freaks of nature like the ogres and vampires of 
fabled lore. In fact she had seen one or two of them 
whose visages were well calculated to confirm the vague 
ideas she had conceived, and the impression upon her 
mind that the human forms were only the fleshy cover- 
ings of devils was only augmented by the contact. 

And it is not improbable that the little matron’s ideas 
were entirely destitute of reason, when the facts and 
fancies of creation are sifted. 

“We have two members of the O. H. with us to- 
night, or rather this morning,” remarked Nick Alton as 
he passed his cup for another cup of coffee, and he looked 
significantly at Washburn and Ferguson, who sat opposite 
him at the breakfast table. 

Mrs. McKasson followed his glance, and when her 
gaze rested on the two men she replied before she pro- 
ceeded to replenish Nick’s cup: 

“Ah, ha ; I thought as much when I saw them to be 
strangers. Do you expect to get much help from that 
quarter, Nick?” 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


313 


“Yes, I think we will, ’’replied Nick in a positive tone. 
“We have been informed by these two gentlemen that 
the citizens of their part of the country have inaugurated 
a war of extermination, and though it is a little late it 
will have its effect.” 

Nick, who was fond of long speeches, here noting 
the marked attention of the assembly, took the cup of 
coffee proffered by the matron, and resumed, with his 
fork clinching a piece of dried beef and his knife up- 
raised : 

“You know what Anna — his wife — has been assert- 
ing all the time, don’t you. Flora.? Well,” as she nodded, 
“she still sticks to it, and all the arguments I can pro- 
duce can’t convince her to the contrary. Now, that looks 
strange, don’t it .? She seems to think that because the 
Alton’s were wild and indulged a great deal in gambling, 
fighting and horse racing that they have a natural ten- 
dency for crime. But you know that is a natural failing 
with these pedigreed people. They seem to think that 
all people who are not of aristocratic lineage are indif- 
ferent to their reputation, but I for one disagree with her. 
If there is any of my kinsmen in this organization they 
must be some that I know nothing about nor never heard 
of, and as to her opinion in regard to it being my cousin 
Tom that heads it I think I shall soon be able to con- 
vince her of her error.” 

“ Why, Nick, do you still think that he was killed in 
the battle of Pea Ridge .?” asked Mrs. McKasson with a 


314 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


look of pleasant anticipation at the prospect of Nick 
being able to rid himself of the trouble between himself 
and his wife. 

Nick had been rather too enthusiastic in his talk and 
spoken more than he aimed to, and as a consequence the 
little matron’s question had nonplused hhn. But it was 
his ability to quickly extricate himself from sudden com- 
plications which had been the cause of him being chosen 
leader of the vigilantes, and he was not to be long con- 
fused at this small matter. True, it was not his desire 
to tell a falsehood about it, for he had a strict regard for 
the truth. But as he had always asserted what he be- 
lieved, it was very trying on him to still assert what he 
now knew to be false, and which he still desired to have 
other people believe. So he knew no other way out of 
the difficulty than an evasive answer, and as soon as he 
could frame one he gave it. 

“My investigations have not been fruitless. Flora. 
This seems to be a time of general retribution and clear- 
ing up of mysteries, and, as I was saying, my attempts 
to clear up this mystery have not been without results.” 

Now, in regard to the trouble between Nick and his 
wife, who was the daughter of a poor, struggling lawyer 
in Hartville, and was, to use a common phrase of 
the region, a pedigreed Yankee, it was plain that his 
better half was of a nagging and selfish disposition, and 
had not married him out of pure love. Still there had 
been no trouble between them till it was commonly re- 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


315 


ported and generally believed that Nick’s 'cousin, Tom 
Alton, was the leader of the desperate band that terror- 
ized the inhabitants of the Ozarks from one extremity to 
the other. Nick was then surprised and pained at the 
course his wife then began of persecuting and taunting 
him instead of sympathizing and condoling with him in 
the affair, which greatly chagrined him and which he at 
once set to work to investigate. Nick could easily put 
to flight her arguments by a plain, unvarnished revelation 
of a secret he had kept from his wife and one which he 
had resolved to use only as a last resort if necessity 
required it. For reasons of his own, which we had bet- 
ter describe for the readers’ benefit, Nick had never told 
her of his own lineage, which was equally as good as 
hers if not better. If he had only told her of his con- 
nection with the old cavalier family back in the old 
Dominion she would have believed his assertions instead 
of making his life miserable by her insinuations of bad 
blood. He had pondered over the subject a great deal 
and he suddenly bethought him that his cold, practical 
and pedigreed New England wife did not understand 
Southern natures as v/ell as he did and could only see 
the outside of complicated cases like this and judge 
accordingly. 

But Nick and his kinsmen were wise enough to know 
that their lineage was practically of no service to them 
there in that rugged wilderness of the Southwest, where 
men were men and women were women and one person 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


316 


was as good as another so long as they minded their own 
business. Then it was never a habit of these Southern 
bred people to boast of their lineage, nor even mention 
it for that matter, and if they did happen to know that 
they were superior to their neighbors in the matter of 
birth, education or worldly emolument they kept it to 
themselves. Nick and his clansmen, having realized 
that they were needed to help subdue the wilderness, and 
that money and property was of no more use than lineage 
in that country where they had settled, strove to obtain 
them without much thought of the source whence they 
came from back in the remote East, and if their neighbors 
found out the quality of the family it would be through 
other people than themselves. And Nick was wise 
enough to know that it would be public matter in a very 
short time if he gave way to the temptation to inform 
his spouse of this heretofore guarded secret, and that is 
why he refrained. He was in hopes that he would strike 
some clue to the mystery and clear it up before he was 
compelled to impart the secret to Tis wife that he did 
not want to. 

‘ ‘ What has become of them other two men that have 
been with you.?” asked Flora McKasson when, after 
Nick’s explanation, she concluded that he still believed 
what he had before asserted, that his cousin was dead. 

“Whom do you have reference to .?” asked Nick, who 
now had commenced to eat, pausing in the act of lifting 
a bite of the beefsteak to his mouth. 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


317 


. Flora looked puzzled. She could not recall the names 
of the men. 

“Perhaps she means the two we left to guard the 
prisoners,” suggested Dan Ferguson, noticing her em- 
barrassment. 

“ Oh, yes,” exclaimed Nick, brightening up. “You 
mean Thomas and Talbott.” 

“I think they are the men I had in mind,” said 
Flora with a grave nod. “ Yoii left them to guard the 
prisoners,” — with a little shudder — “did you.?” 

“Yes, but you needn’t shudder over their cases. 
Flora,” assured Nick. “I think there is room for re- 
form. ” 

Thomas and Talbott, by their own request, had been 
left at the cabin in charge of the prisoners. Nick, who 
was in a garrulous mood, came near asserting that it was 
his belief that these two men were going under assumed 
names and had some mysterious mission to fulfill, but he 
checked himself when he thought that his intended 
assertion might lead to other embarrassing questions. So 
he refrained and said nothing more during the meal un- 
less addressed. 

The two men left at the old cabin as guard were talk- 
ing, and in order that we may pursue the thread of this 
narrative we must leave the house and its assemblage 
and for a while play the mouse in the wall in the old 
cabin, used for a temporary jail for the prisoners that 
fell into the hands of Nick and his men. 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


31S 


A fire was built in the massive, old fireplace, which 
was quite large enough to take a five foot stick, and some 
rude benches had been constructed to take the place of 
chairs. The cabin did not present much signs of dilapi- 
dation yet, but there were a couple of crevices in the 
wall next to the floor and a hole in one corner of the 
fireplace through which the rats were wont to have in- 
gress and egress and the one window in the back wall of 
the cabin was full of broken panes, this being the reason 
it had not been removed. Just in front of the one door 
the fence, which had been the first inclosure of the place, 
was fast being enveloped in a rank growth of weeds and 
brambles. 

On the South side of the fireplace, sitting dejectedly 
on one of the rude benches with bent forms and down- 
cast eyes, were the men who had surrendered to the 
regulators down at the Harper cabin when they saw that 
their side was defeated. On the other side facing them 
sat the two mysterious men who bore the titles of first 
and second lieutenant of the Fox Valley stranglers. They 
were engaged in conversation about something for a little 
time, and talked in low, guarded tones, but finally they 
gradually let their voices rise and the words could be 
plainly distinguished by the two prisoners, 

Talbott, who was sitting next to the fire, was the first 
to raise his voice, and this was what he said : 

“Yes, you and I have been having pretty tough treat- 
ment by the world for the courage we manifested in the 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


319 


cause we believed to be right. Our fortunes have been 
similar, but the worst of my ill fortune I endured while 
you were in happy ignorance of yours, while now you 
are enduring the worst of yours, Andy. God grant that 
we may both soon see the rift in the dark cloud and the 
appearance of the glad sunlight shining through it.” 

Thomas was absorbed in deep thought, and gazed 
steadily for a moment at the window that now shone 
with the light of approaching day. Presently he turned 
his gaze to the firelight again and replied : 

“ But I can’t see that you have suffered on account 
of the stand you took in the late strife, Talbott. Why 
did you mention that 

“ Oh, no ; I didn’t mean that either of us had suffered 
on that account,” hastily explained Talbott. “I only 
meant that we have not been partakers in the general 
peace and prosperity that we helped to inaugurate, that’s 
all.” 

“ In that you are not exactly correct either, Talbott. 
While you suffered as you did I was enfoying myself im- 
mensely partaking, as you said, in the general peace and 
prosperity. Then, while you were bound and helpless 
and unable to extricate yourself from your difficulty, I 
was free and untrammeled to work as my fancy dictated. ” 

“And a fine thing it was for me that you were,” 
laughed Talbott. “Still I would hardly feel easy if I 
had not been offered the chance of helping you out of 
your difficulty. ” 


320 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


Thomas did not reply. His ears had suddenly caught 
the sound of hoof beats, and he jumped to his feet and 
strode hastily to the window, exclaiming as he did so : 

“There comes Reub now, I do believe.” 

There was an old road that skirted the upper side of 
the prairie field that had once been the main road, but 
had been abandoned when a more suitable route was 
surveyed. This new route was the one that ran past the 
dwelling of Reub McKasson, while the old route was 
traveled only by horsemen and footmen desiring a short 
cut. Thomas, when he reached the window, gazed out 
and saw in the gray light of the morning a man riding a 
coal black horse and swaddled from head to foot in an 
old army cloak, with his big black slouch hat pulled 
down over his forehead. His small black eyes had in 
them a triumphant expression, his black whiskers shaved 
down below the chin, were glistening with the night 
moisture, and he had ridden up almost even with the 
shanty before Thomas discovered that there was some 
one riding behind him. 

“ Jumping Jehoshaphat,” he exclaimed loudly, giving 
his leg a vigorous slap with his hand to emphasize his 
words, “ It’s Reub, and he’s got Milt with him, or you 
can shoot me for a fool.” 

“ Milt,” reiterated Talbott dubiously, “you must be 
mistaken, Andy.” 

“Here, let’s open the door,” said Thomas, and suit- 
ing the action to the word he opened the door wide and 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


321 


looked out on the newcomers sitting on the horse in the 
misty light of the dawn. 

“It is Milt, sure enough,” he said, and then shouted 
to McKasson ; “Light and look at your saddle.” 

“ Hello, Andy, is that you shouted back Reub, in a 
pleased voice. “ Come help me take my charge down.” 

Clearly forgetting the presence of their captives, the 
two men closed the door and went out to the fence, 
where Reub sat on his horse with his prisoner on behind 
him. McKasson had him tied securely by a stout rope 
tied around his feet and thrust under the belly of the 
horse and the outlaw’s hands were tied to the buckskin 
thongs that protruded from the hind part of the saddle. 
The outlaw looked more dead than alive as the two 
regulators untied him and assisted him to the ground. 

“ Purty harsh treatment, ain’t it queried Reub, with 
a half pitying look at the captive. “ But it couldn’t be 
helped though, you see. ” 

“Are you going on to the house, Reub asked Andy. 
“If you are tell the others to hurry back, for I’m as 
hungry as a wolf ten days in a steel trap.” 

“All right,” replied Reub, “I’ll go on and hurry 
them up. Have you got some of the brotherhood in 
there, Andy 

“ I guess we have or we wouldn’t be down here while 
the other boys are up there feasting,” replied Thomas 
gayly. 


322 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


Reub went on to the house and the other two marched 
Milt Harper into the cabin for safe keeping. It was not 
unlikely that they felt a little remorseful at the sight of 
the dejected captive, with his auricular appendage half 
gone from the marksmanship of Jack Dalton, and the 
thoroughly submissive demeanor he displayed. His limbs 
were numbed and sore with their long confinement in the 
coils of the rope, and the men had to support him to the 
cabin, but they spoke no word of triumphant banter to 
him whom they knew was foredoomed to die, to have his 
life choked out by the same rope that had done the work 
for so many transgressors. 

The sun was throwing its rays over the mountain 
landscape, diffusing anew its light and warmth to all 
living creatures, and the birds were flying from tree to 
tree and from hill top to hill top singing a last farewell 
chant to the departing summer season, when Nick Alton 
and his followers made their appearance at the shanty 
and relieved the guards they had left there. 

Reub had told them his experience in the pursuit and 
capture of Milt and had given them a satisfactory account 
of the evidence he had acquired, and when he had done 
so they all knew that Milt was doomed to hang, and the 
sooner it was done the better. Mercy was a thing that 
none of the doomed captives need ask for when once the 
sentence was pronounced, and if others who were less 
troublesome than Milt Harper had swung it was a settled 
question that before the sun rose again and shed its 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


323 


light over the weird mountain landscape as it was now 
doing that Milt would be no longer in the land of the 
living. 

While Thomas and Talbott were up at the house 
satisfying the inner man with the bountiful spread of 
viands set before them by Flora McKasson, the balance 
of the regulators made their arrangements and brought 
the prisoners they had taken in the fight up for trial. 

When they were requested to give an account of 
themselves, they told a straightforward story about their 
wanderings over the country in search of work, and their 
inability to obtain it, when, after they had become dis- 
couraged and desperate, they had joined the gang with 
the hopes of making a raise of money, enough to take 
them back home. 

“Well, I believe what you say is all true enough,” 
said Nick, judicially, when they had told their story. 
“You are in a bad place if you only knew it, and I 
would advise you to get out of it without delay. You 
were no doubt badly discouraged, but next time you get 
in a tight fix go to honest people for aid, and let that 
stripe go. Do you know this other prisoner here r he 
added, pointing to Milt. 

They replied that they had seen him but once before 
and knew that he was Ben Harper’s son, but that was all. 
This was another bit of evidence to the regulators that 
they were floaters, and had not been with the gang long, 
and after a short consultation they let them go, at the 


324 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


same time warning them to clear out from that locality 
and never be seen there again. 

By and by Reub, Thomas and Talbott rejoined them 
and the trial of Milt Harper was commenced. 

Reub was the first witness to take the stand, and 
although his evidence was quite sufficient, others who 
knew far less than he added their testimony to his, and 
the mock ceremony was soon over with. 

The regulators had all made up their minds that Milt 
was a disgrace and a nuisance that must be got rid of, as 
well as a dangerous, undermining character that threat- 
ened the peace and prosperity of the country. 

So the day dragged slowly by and night had once 
more spread its sombre mantle over the earth when 
the detachment, sent out with the prisoner to execute 
him, set out under cover of the darkness for the crest 
of the mountains. There was a wild solitude near 
the crest where a small glade was unbroken by anything 
save a solitary oak that spread its stout branches out in 
a wide radius, and it was an ideal place for such a deed. 
Thomas and Talbott were to head the party, and they 
made it known to the others that when it was over with 
and they had sent the body home, that they would go from 
there to Springfield, where they had important business 
to attend to. 

So at the midnight hour another one of the trouble- 
some outlaws that infested the mountains paid the penalty 
for his numerous misdeeds, and the detachment sent out 


THE MIDNIGHT EXECUTION. 


3^5 


to perform the act was waiting and watching for the out- 
law’s life to ebb out and the quivering form become 
motionless. 

When at last they realized that life was extinct they 
took him down and made ready to take him home to the 
wife that had stayed with him and harbored him and 
taken him for better or worse, and yet had never com- 
plained nor reproached him for his criminal acts. And 
believing that the dead outlaw’s better half would feel 
relieved at his deatli, they hastened to inform her of the 
termination of his career, while Thomas and Talbott 
went on their way to Springfield, glad to have an excuse 
for being away from the blood-stained battle ground be- 
tween supercilious wrong and oppressed, long-suffering 
right. 


CHAPTER XV. 


THE EXHUMATION. 

The appointed day that Clayton and his friends had 
set on which to make the proposed expedition to the old 
Alton homestead arrived at last, and the five 3^oung men 
having secured the loan of Alex. Dedton’s spring wagon, 
and gotten together the required tools, set out for their 
destination about nine o’clock in the morning and drove 
rapidly along the road as though they were going to town 
to have a good time. 

The roads were in excellent condition, as there had 
been a duration of spasmodic rains that settled the dust, 
and as travel had smothered them down well they were 
now at their best, and the impetuous young mountaineers 
were under a strong spell of exhilaration, eminating from 
the crisp ozonic mountain air, and the natural anticipa- 
tions of success common to youth. Their plans had been 
carefully laid and they were under no necessity of rack- 
ing their brains over that part of it as they drove rapidly 
along, engaged in an exhilarated babble of conversation. 
The air was strongly impregnated with the icy breath of 
winter, and the inhabitants along the road had either 
prepared for cold weather or were preparing for it, while 
the denizens of the forest — the rabbit, the squirrel and 
(326) 



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THE EXHUMATION. 


329 


the other small animals — were also preparing. The 
terrapin was busy constructing his winter domicile under 
the body of some fallen log, the squirrel was laying up 
his winter store in the hollow of some solid, old oak, 
while the little rabbit, with natural sagacity, no longer 
hopped about in the road in plain view of the settlers, 
seeming to know that his flesh was now a delectable 
table viand. 

The happy whoop of the schoolboy enjoying his holi- 
day in hunting about the fields and woods mingled with 
the ring of the woodman’s axe and the yelping of the 
hunters’ dogs, and all these sounds of country life and 
activity reminded Clayton Palliser of the days of his own 
bright, happy boyhood, and despite the hilarity of his 
friends he felt a trifle pensive as they rode along over the 
tortuous mountain road toward the valley of the James. 

The plan they had outlined was as follows : They 
were to drive up the road past the house and stop near 
the spot where Jack had found the grave and kide their 
tools there, after which they were to drive on to town 
and spend the day there, waiting for the cover of night 
to perform their operations in. 

That the task would require the whole night none of 
them doubted, despite the shallowness they fancied that 
all isolated graves possessed, but Jim had high hopes that 
the other theory would be fruitful of results enough to 
warrant the abandonment of the exhumation, which was- 
distasteful to him. He told the others that if he was 


330 


THE EXHUMATION. 


going to have a choice of the two plans thrust upon him 
he would pursue the first one and let the other one go, 
but none of them save Bill seemed to have much confi- 
dence in the supposition that Jason Palliser had been 
imprisoned. Still it was a part of the programme to 
investigate that theory first, and the others did not 
demur in regard to it, although they felt that the task of 
exhuming the contents of the grave would be imposed 
upon them. 

When they arrived at the Emerson house they saw 
the old woman who kept house for Hart looking out of 
the kitchen door at them, and they stopped the team 
and Jack shouted to her and asked : 

“ Is Hart at home 

The old woman was used of having that question 
fired at her from passers, and showed no alarni. She 
stepped out into the yard to obtain a better view of them, 
and shading her eyes with her hand she answered and 
said : 

“No, he hasn’t returned from Springfield yet. He 
went up there the other day to take possession of the 
property left him by his uncle, and I don’t know when 
he’ll be back. Did you want to see him 

“ Oh, not particular,” replied Jack in his impromptu 
manner. “We only wanted to know why he didn’t 
show up at the regulators’ meetin’ the other day,” and as 
he finished speaking he struck the horses a smart rap with 
the whip and they jogged along up the hill. 


THE EXHUMATION. 


331 


“She seems like a good old soul,” remarked Jack to 
Clayton who sat in the seat with him. 

“ I like her very well, what little I know about her, 
and I don’t believe she knows what kind of a man she 
is working for. I wonder if that tale about his uncle 
dying and leaving him his estate is true or just a trumped 
up tale to get out of attending the meeting at Wash- 
burn’s.” This was spoken by Clayton after a moment’s 
reflection on the subject started by Jack. 

“Oh, I don’t think he would dare to invent such a 
big lie as that,” laughed Jack, and then continued : “It’s 
true, I guess, or at least it’s true about the old gent bein’ 
dead, but about him leaving all his money and property 
to Hart, why that might be only his imagination.” 

“You are right. Jack,” responded Clayton. “I 
think the Emersons are a little too complicated and 
gruesome to form much of an opinion that is correct. I 
think I remember hearing something about this old fellow 
when I was a small boy, and it was to the effect that he 
had cheated his brothers out of their part of the in- 
heritance and was forced to flee the country to avoid 
losing it all, as the other heirs threatened him with 
trouble. I shall ask mother when I see her again if my 
memory of the incident is right.” 

Jack was absorbed and made no reply except an 
assenting grunt, and the team plodded along up the steep 
incline. Jack was thinking about the grave he had 
found, and he was enveloped in a maze of feelings that 


332 


THE EXHUMATION. 


would be hard to describe. There was a vague sort of 
reality that some act of romantic character described in 
his story books was about to be enacted, and with that 
a feeling of pleasure at the thought that his beloved 
friend was to have his fetters broken by himself. Then a 
wave of doubt and desolation would sweep over him 
at the thought of the possibility of the contents of 
the isolated grave Joeing only a bony skeleton that was 
beyond recognition, and it was very probable that it 
could be no other way if the body had been thrown in 
and covered up without any coffin or enclosure of any 
kind. Jack still believed that the remains of Jason 
Palliser lay under the bare looking spot in the thicket, 
although when Jim had first advanced the theory of im- 
prisonment he admitted that it was not devoid of logical 
reasoning. 

Ere the horses had drawn the wagon to the level of 
the bench where the operation was to be performed, the 
others had become smitten with the same premonition in 
regard to the exhumation revealing only a hideous skele- 
ton that could not be recognized. 

But they said nothing about their dismal feeling, for 
they were not the, ones to back down from any task, 
however disagreeable, they had set themselves, and a 
moment later they were sailing over the grass plot above 
the ruins of the old cabin toward an opening in the copse 
a little beyond. Jack had instinctively guessed that the 
opening was deep and intricate enough to shelter the. 


THE EXHUMATION. 


333 


team and wagon from the view of passers, and his sur- 
mises were correct. There was a hedge of tall black- 
berry bushes skirting the edge of the copse of oak saplings, 
and by cutting down a few of the latter an opening could 
be made through which they could drive the wagon and 
let them out at the upper side of the opening. This 
discovery put them all in good spirits once more, and as 
there was room enough by driving over some of the 
scattered bushes that intervened between the main copse 
and the blackberry hedge to hide the rig from view from 
the road, they all got out of the wagon and began to 
look around for the best place to hide the tools. While 
the other four were busy at that Jack took a hatchet they 
had brought and proceeded to make the opening free 
from incumbrances by cutting away the scattered growth 
of bushes therein and throwing out of the way a number 
of large rocks that also lay in the passage. Before he 
had completed his task the others had found a good place 
to hide the tools, and had taken them from the wagon 
and stowed them safely away. When Jack at last had 
finished and came back, he found his companions waiting 
for him to come and pilot them to the scene of their 
future operations — the isolated grave in the copse near 
by. 

“ Are you sure you can remember the exact location. 
Jack.?” anxiously inquired Clayton, a few minutes later 
when they were on their way to the old cabin site, which 
was the landmark that located the spot. 


334 


THE EXHUMATION. 


“ I don’t think I was excited enough that the place 
looked to me any different than it would now,” assured 
Jack. “ If it isn’t there jist below the old chimney stack 
it must have been moved or else I was under a spell of 
illusion. Let’s hurry and git into the brush agin before 
we are discovered,” he added, quickening his pace. 

The others did likewise, and a moment later they had 
passed the old chimney stack and plunged again into the 
copse. Jack led the way through the narrow opening, 
and very soon they were all standing before the cluster 
of sumach sprouts that Jack had described as encircling 
the spot. But there was no bare looking spot of gravelly 
clay that met their anxious, furtive gaze. The bushes 
that encircled the spot had caught and held a carpeting 
of leaves that excluded from view the spot they supposed 
to be a grave, and if it had been that way when Jack 
was there alone he never would have made the discovery. 
But Jack was in no wise disconcerted at this, and he set 
to work with energetic determination to remove the car- 
pet that nature had spread over the grave while the 
others stood looking on with a touch of sad anticipa- 
tion. 

A moment passed thus in profound silence, except 
the gentle swish of the leaves as they came in contact 
with Jack’s broad palms, and when he had completed 
the operation he rose to his feet, exclaiming exultingly: 

“Now, can you see anything, boys 

The other four ranged themselves in a semicircle 


THE EXHUMATION. 


335 


around the spot, and holding the sumachs out of the way 
with their hands peered down at the spot. 

Yes, there it was sure enough, just as Jack had de- 
scribed it, only now partially obscured by the still cling- 
ing leaves, but visible enough to warrant Jack’s assertion 
that he was under no excited illusion when he made the 
discovery. And as they gazed earnestly at the gravelly 
clay that spotted the grassy surface around the cluster of 
sumachs, they one and all settled it in their minds that 
whether it was the last resting place of Ja.son Palliser 
or not, it was certainly the grave of some victim of 
treachery. 

“Well, what do you all think about it.?” queried Jack 
after the others had scrutinized in silence the spot for a 
moment. Jack was now imbued with a keen desire for 
the other theory to be fruitful, when he noticed the sad, 
melancholy expression on the face of his friend, although 
he feared it would not be. That they were now present 
at the last place where Jason Palliser disappeared from 
human sight was his strong conviction, and he involun- 
tarily shuddered when he thought of the results that 
would crown their night’s labor. 

Jim Carver noticed the dejection of Clayton also, 
and he suddenly bethought him that it might be well to 
speak a few words in support of his theory. Jim was 
continually haunted by the recollection of Hart Emer- 
son’s declaration about a crime that he could undo, and 
the more he reflected over it the more evident it was to 


33 ^ 


THE EXHUMATION. 


his comprehension that his theory was not altogether 
groundless. 

“ Did you ever hear the story of the old settler who 
occupied this old cabin ?” asked Jim as he examined his 
watch. The others looked up with newly awakened 
interest at his words. What if Jim was only forbearing 
in explaining the situation out of respect for their judg- 
ment, and knew who it was that lay buried under that 
bare looking spot ? Was this sure enough the old 
pioneer that had sold his claim to the old Virginian and 
a few days afterward was killed by the Indians and 
buried by old man Alton near the cabin that had been 
his home ? It was strange that none of them had ever 
thought of it before, and yet they all with one accord 
mentally agreed that Jim had not unfolded to them all 
he knew yet. 

“Why, Jim.?” asked Jack, as he fixed his big, blue 
eyes on Jim with a questioning gaze. “Why, what’s 
the matter now .? Do you actually believe that this is it 
— that is, I mean the old settler’s grave,” he finished 
nervously as he took a step or two nearer Jim. 

“Whether it is or not,” replied Jim, “it is our duty 
to investigate the matter if the other theory is not pro- 
ductive enough to warrant the abandonment of this one. 
But it is getting late now, and we will have to be going 
if we want to spend some time in town. It is now half 
past twelve, and by the time we get to town and spend 
an hour or two it will be tim$ to start back. If the first 


THE EXHUMATfON. 


337 


plan is not fruitful it won’t take long to see what is in 
this grave, for I am certain that it must be a victim of 
treachery that lies under that spot.” 

“We’ll see how things are to-night, then,” exclaimed 
Jack. “ But lead the way, Jim ; you are the captain of 
this expedition.” 

Jim led the way to the wagon, followed by the others, 
and in a short time they were out in the road again and 
bowling along toward the distant town. Nothing much 
was said on the way, as they were all absorbed in deep 
thought about the event set for the night. Jim’s query 
about the old settler’s place of burial had aroused a train 
of serious speculation and doubt in the minds of the others 
and they were half inclined to believe that the spot they 
supposed was a grave was that of the old settler instead 
of the last resting place of Jason Palliser, but whoever 
it was that had been interred there they felt sure must 
have been a victim of treachery. That was an evident 
and undisputable fact. No one dying who had friends or 
relatives, especially in those latter days of so-called 
civilization, would have been interred in such a place as 
that if some designing person had not been desirous of 
keeping the decease of the victim a secret. Viewing the 
matter in that light it was doubtless either the grave 
of the old pioneer hunter that met his death at the 
hands of the Indians or some person that the bush- 
whackers had killed in time of the war, or, it still might 
be the grave of the man they were in search of they 


338 


THE EXHUMATION. 


thought, when they were racking their brains in trying to 
think of some feature of the case that would point to it, 
and realized the close proximity to the dwelling of the 
man they suspicioned. 

Nothing of importance happened during their short 
stay in town until about a quarter of an hour before 
they calculated to start back, when they were loafing 
around the depot, to all appearances a light hearted lot 
of young mountaineers striving to have a good time in 
town. It had been agreed among them at the suggestion 
of Jim, whom they had agreed to obey in every particu- 
lar, to laugh and joke and put on an appearance of 
gayety as though they had no weighty affairs on their 
minds and had only come to town to do a little trading 
and have a good time. And the shrewdest detective 
would never have suspicioned that they were shamming 
as they strode with apparent content around over the 
platform engaged in friendly social banter. 

Suddenly Bill cast his gaze down the street and be- 
held a man coming at a brisk walk toward the depot. 
The others, when they discovered his startled expression, 
also looked, and when they again looked at Bill they 
wondered what could be the matter with him, for his 
visage had become strangely distorted and the expression 
of his eyes was unmistakably one of terror. 

But the man whose appearance had excited Bill very 
soon covered the distance between them and the point 
where they had discovered him, and the others soon 


THE EXHUMATION. 


339 


forgot Bill’s agitation in the strange, uncanny sensation 
they were undergoing themselves. The man was tall, 
above the average height, and his frame was strongly 
knit, a natural endowment of men above the average 
height, and the overcoat he wore hung open at the front, 
disclosing to view the pistol belt studded with cartridges, 
but what caused the fearful mysterious sensation to sweep 
over the young adventurers was the man’s countenance. 
His face was smooth shaven save a light stubby mus- 
tache that graced his upper lip, his features were rugged, 
his face slim, and his complexion dark red, but the eyes, 
which were a dark color of some kind, were distorted 
with a hideous light, which made their exact hue a mat- 
ter of speculation. The great dark orbs seemed to 
look clean through the object they rested upon, and 
when one gazed into them they were instantly entranced 
by the strange light that bespoke the demoniac looking 
out through the temple of clay. 

But the stranger was not entirely devoid of reason, 
although it was evident that some demon or other had 
long had possession of him. He saw the embarrassment 
of the young men, and striving to assume a pleasant ex- 
pression and tone of voice, he addressed Jack Dalton 
and asked : 

“Can you tell me where I can find Hart Emerson.?” 

Jack, who was the least liable to be long confused or 
suppressed at the demon-like expression of the man, re> 


340 


THE EXHUMATION. 


plied as he stole another look at the stranger’s weird 
countenance : 

“Yes, you will find him in Springfield, I guess.” 

“What evidence can you produce in support of your 
assertion asked the stranger in as pacific a tone as he 
could assume. 

“ Why, old Auntie Dutton, who keeps house for him, 
said he was up there, and she didn’t know when he would 
be back,” assured Jack nonchalently. 

“Is he in the habit of making long visits up there 

“Yes, I think he is.” 

“ Wh^n did he go 

“Oh, about a week ago, I guess,” replied Jack, again 
looking into the dark, furtive, ominous orbs of the tall 
stranger. 

“All right. I’ll risk it,” said the man as he started up 
the platform to the waiting room. But ere he had gone 
many steps he turned and surprised the young men by 
exclaiming : 

“I think I have forgot my manners a little, gentle- 
men. Thank you ever so much for your information.” 

This was a subject for discussion with our young ad- 
. venturers for fully half the distance back to the scene of 
their intended operations. What could this ferocious 
looking individual with the tone and manner of a gentle- 
man be wanting with Hart Emerson was a theme, leav- 
. ing abundant room for speculation, and they all gave 


THE EXHUMATION. 


341 


vent to their opinions concerning his errand, but could 
not refrain from a recitation of the sensations they under- 
went when they were in his presence. 

Darkness had again covered our side of the earth 
when the five young men, bent on such a strange errand 
reached the scene of their intended operations and found 
things just as they had left them. It did not take them 
long to make ready for the performance. The horses 
were tied to the wagon, which, had been driven into the 
opening near the isolated grave they were going to exca- 
vate, and given a good feed of sheaf oats they had 
brought with them ; the tools were brought from their 
hiding place and rehidden near the spot of their intended 
labors, and when all this was done they sat down on the 
grass plot near the wagon to eat their lunch and to 
further discuss the night’s work. 

The other four seemed to have a strong conviction 
that Carver was going to reveal some new phase of the 
subject that he had in mind from the nonchalant manner 
he assumed and the silence he maintained. They thought 
he was only trying to invent some way of telling what 
he actually knew so that it would present the most 
plausible aspect, and prevent any contrary suggestions, 
but they had but a dim idea of the real subject that was 
engrossing the mind of their leader. Jack, who was 
restless to know what the revelation meant, now felt a 
willingness to relinquish his pet plan if Jim could throw 
any light on the subject that would warrant its abandon- 


342 


THE EXHUMATION. 


merit, and, when a moment’s silence had ensued, which 
was becoming oppressive to his bold, restless spirit, he 
asked Jim to divulge. 

Jim, who was a shrewd observer, saw that the others 
were expectant and was ready to enlighten them when 
he was asked to do so. 

“Well boys,” he began, as he changed his position 
on the grass so as to face them, “did you know this spot 
was tabooed 

The others were too astonished to answer and sat 
staring. 

“ What the devil do you mean by that, Jim.?” finally 
blurted out Jack, who was not well versed in words that 
were not of common, every-day use. 

Jim laughed a light laugh at Jack’s impetuous display 
that always had been a source of secret amusement to 
him, but he suddenly realized that time was precious, 
and he would have to explain quickly so that the others 
would have plenty of time to ruminate before they were 
through eating. 

“Now boys,” he resumed presently, “it is my belief 
that this is the spot where the old settler was buried, and 
as I am about the only one in the crowd that has had 
the chance to know it, I will inform you that this place 
has the reputation of being haunted. You see Charlie 
here lived too far away and Jack and Bill were too young 
to have heard anything about it, while Clayton has lived 


THE EXHUMATION. 


343 


here in this country but a short time. Now, all this goes 
to prove that I am the best fitted for the capacity of 
doing the head-work as I know the lay of the land, and 
it is a part of the programme to make the excavation 
we will do so when the time comes. But if it is actu- 
ally so that Jason Palliser was murdered here and then 
robbed, and afterward buried, it may be that he was 
thrown in an excavation directly on top of the old set- 
tler’s grave in order to insure secrecy and make the dis- 
covery of his place of interment just what it was, simply 
an accident. For you all know that the colored people 
have a genuine horror of anything supernatural, and their 
belief in ghosts and spiritual manifestations is unshaken. 
Added to that is a certain class of white people who are 
possessed of the same hallucination. Then on top of 
that is another layer of logical facts which goes to prove 
what I said a bit ago, that this place was tabooed, or 
rather I should say haunted. Now you all know that 
human beings, no matter what their degree of learning 
be, have a certain amount of superstition, and even 
though they may not believe in the return of departed 
spirits to the sight of human eyes yet some of our best 
educated people believe in spiritual manifestations. Then 
I might give you a sample of others still, by the recita- 
tion of my own experience, which is, I believe, about on 
the same line with the rest of you, if I judge aright. It 
is this, whether we believe in ghosts or spiritual mani- 
festations or not we are at times brought into contact 


344 


THE EXHUMATION. 


with circumstances that upset our disbelief in such things 
for a brief spell, unless we have a thorough knowledge 
of the earth and the machinations of all that is in it. 
Therefore you see that the reputation this place got 
hitched on to it was resorted to for a purpose. All I 
have stated to you about people’s superstitions I have 
recited in order to make it plain to your comprehension 
that this particular spot was not liable to be invaded by 
either whites or blacks without they were ignorant of its 
character or had something at stake. Do you grasp my 
meaning.^” he added, looking from one to the other of 
the listening companions on the grass near him. 

But none of them seemed to comprehend his meaning 
and they sat in silence for a moment, a silence that was 
ominous and ghostly to their excited state of mind, 
wrought by Jim’s long recitation of his knowledge on the 
subject of human superstitions and spiritual manifesta- 
tions. The lantern that had been hung up on a branch 
of the scraggly plum tree nearby gave out a clear bright 
stream of light around the spot, but for all that it seemed 
to the other four adventurers as though the munching of 
the horses and the soft, swishing sound they produced in 
pulling and bandying the oats around in the wagon bed 
was but the pitapat of ghostly feet on the green sward. 

• But the irrepressible Jack soon grew tired of the sup- 
pressed silence and came back at Jim with this good 
natured banter : 

“Oh, come off now, Jim; we didn’t come here to 


THE EXHUMATION. 


345 


listen to a discourse on the subject of ghosts. Come 
right out now and talk plain English, or you’ll have us 
all sheered and ready to run, with your ghostly talk. ” 

Jim laughed a hearty laugh despite the solemnity of 
the occasion, but soon straightened up and continued : 

“You are right. Jack; what I mean is that whoever 
it was that resorted to this place for the interment of 
whatever the contents of your find may happen to be 
it is ten chances to one that he put it here with the firm 
conviction that the reputation the place bore would in- 
sure its secrecy; or speaking a little plainer, he was con- 
fident that this ghost-guarded spot was the safest place 
to bury something that he wanted secure from prying 
mortal eyes.” 

“Oh yes, I understand you now,” came in a chorus 
from the listening group, and Jim, when he realized that 
they understood his meaning, remained silent and 
thoughtful. 

Presently he was roused by the voice of Clayton ex- 
claiming : “Better eat some now, Jim; you’ve been 
talking long enough, haven’t you 

Jim helped himself to a handful of the cold vitals 
they had brought with them and settled his solid form 
against the spokes of the front wheel with the air of one 
who had just completed a laborious task, while the rest 
of them remained silent and thoughtful as they occasion- 
ally helped themselves to another morsel with which to 


346 


THE EXHUMATION. 


satisfy the cravings of the inner man and brace them for 
the arduous labors of the night. Jim’s explanation had 
allayed the ghostly sensations they had felt at first, and 
while none of them believed in such things they admit- 
ted to themselves that Jirn was right when he asserted 
that all people were liable to undergo such sensations 
unless their minds were ready to grasp the true meaning 
at once. 

When they had all finished their lunch Jim rose ab- 
ruptly to his feet and explained to them hurriedly the 
proposition he had been meditating : 

“Now then, boys, I have a proposition to make which 
I think would be wise to adopt if we would make the 
most of our time. It is that I make the reconnoisance 
of the old stone cabin alone.” 

“ Why, Jim.?” asked Clayton in great surprise. 

“Well, you see it won’t take but one pair of eyes to 
see into that part of it, and I propose to make it alone, 
as the noise of our whole party might lead to our dis- 
covery. Besides, if it is at all possible to find out any- 
thing down there one man can find it out as good as a 
dozen.” 

The others had hoped to share in this adventure, as 
they had a vague idea of its daring excitement, although 
none of them save Bill had any faith in it. Now that 
Jim had spoken as he did on the subject it struck them 
that in order to save time and trouble they had better 
let him have his way. 


THE EXHUMATION. 


347 


‘ ‘ All right, Jim, go ahead then, ” said Clayton, anxious 
to begin operations. 

“You are the only one that fias any faith in that 
plan, anyhow,” ventured Charlie. 

“No, you are mistaken, Charlie,” assured Bill. “I 
have faith in it myself, but it might be that Jim won’t 
find out anything to-night.” 

“ I may be entirely wrong,” said Jim, but the tone 
he spoke in was not in accordance with the words, as the 
enunciation of any doubt was belied by it. 

“Then suppose we go to work with this job while 
he’s gone,” suggested Jack. 

“ As a matter of course,” replied Jim. “Go ahead 
with the excavation, and if this other theory is only a 
bubble it won’t take long to puncture it.” 

The night was warm for the time of year, as the sun- 
shine of the day had dispelled the damp, chilly haze, 
and the wind had ceased to blow about four o’clock, and 
another warm wave was inaugurated which told of more 
rain. The Ozark climate is a fickle and changeable one, 
and all kinds of weather will transpire in the short space 
of twenty-four hours. The sky was clear and unbroken 
by either cloud or weather light, the moon, a little 
gleaming horn, was visible in the Western sky, and, 
barring the sepulchral hooting of a solitary owl far away 
on the mountain side all was as quiet as the grave. Down 
in the valley all was quiet, not even the bark of a dog 


348 


THE EXHUMATION. 


or the twinkle of a cowbell disturbed the serenity, and 
when the young men had become sensible of the stillness 
it seemed to them as though the Great Ruler had sent a 
detachment of just spirits to aid them in revealing this 
long concealed crime against God and man. 

Jim was getting restless to see what it would all 
amount to, and when he had given the others a few 
directions how to proceed, he stood and watched them 
work for a moment. Jack and Charlie were to make the 
commencement of the excavation, while Clayton and 
Bill were to keep guard in the thicket nearby to watch 
for intruders and relieve their companions after the first 
hour, when they were to take turns of an hour’s duration 
in watching and digging. 

When Jim was ready to go he spoke and said : 
“Don’t look for me back till you see me coming, boys, 
for it may take me half of the night to penetrate the 
place and find out anything of importance. As I said 
before, I may be badly off of my base in this question, 
but I can’t feel satisfied till I have settled it. Now I will 
be going, boys. Be careful and don’t go to sleep on the 
watch,” he added jestingly as he turned to go. 

So while Clayton and the other three were at work 
exhuming the contents of the isolated grave we will go 
with Jim Carver on his errand to the little stone cabin 
and see there what he saw, and hear what he heard. 

The way he calculated to go in order to avoid dis- 
covery was to force his way through the copse to the 


THE EXHUMATION. 


349 


fence that enclosed the stone structure, and which en- 
closed ground was mostly covered with a scattered growth 
of timber and thickets of hazel, wild plum and sumach 
such as grew near the old cabin site on the bench. He 
hoped that he would strike some opening, similar to the 
one that led from the ruins of the cabin to the isolated 
grave he left his companions excavating, and he was not 
disappointed. After scrambling through the copse, re- 
ceiving numerous scratches and bruises and whelts from 
small, keen limbs and feeling out in the darkness his hand 
came in contact with the fence, and he clambered upon 
it to recover his equilibrium and look carefully for an 
opening that he could follow in the darkness. The moon 
cast but a weird, sickly light, and although one could see 
objects it was hard to distinguish them. He could see 
at first only a chaotic mass of weird mountain landscape 
beneath the feeble rays of the moon, and he regretted he 
could not carry a lantern with him, that being rather 
risky, as it might lead to discovery. This was an item 
he had taken particular pains to prevent, and he could 
hardly do anything himself that he had cautioned his 
companions not to do, and he was forced to content 
himself with the reflection that his vision would be better 
when he had been in the darkness a little while, as the 
light of the lantern would have a blinding effect on his 
ocular powers. But he had not peered long at the near- 
by landscape till he saw that he had struck the fence but 
a few yards below the cross fence that encircled the grave- 


350 


THE EXHUMATION. 


yard, and he saw plainly the white gravestones that 
marked the graves of departed Altons and their kinsmen 
and others, buried there whose purse was ample enough 
to buy them this last earthly privilege. But Jim had no 
time to reflect on the departed glories of the Altons nor 
the means of the other dead that lay buried there. Their 
wood, hay, and stubble they had heaped together during 
their stay on earth were nothing to him, no more than 
the monuments which marked the termination of their 
earthly career. He turned his eyes once more to the 
ground near the fence and saw to his delight that there 
were no obstacles between him and the little stone hut 
except a few scattered clumps of hazel and sumach, with 
a few old trees and stumps. Taking a closer scrutiny 
from bis perch on the fence he saw sparks emitting from 
the chimney of the old hut, and a spasm of surprise and 
anxiety convulsed him. What if the little old stone den 
was the rendezvous of another gang of toughs, and Hart 
Emerson was connected with it ! This thought flashed 
into Jim’s mind like a flash of lightning, and as he was 
possessed of a bold, venturesome disposition it only had 
the effect of hastening his footsteps toward the cabin in 
a transport of fierce curiosity and expectancy. 

His eyes had now thrown off the blinding effect of 
the lantern, and he was able to proceed at a rapid rate 
through the enclosure. But he was obliged to locate the 
hut by the sparks that were spasmodically flitting out on 
the dully illumined sky, and he met with a couple of bad 


THE EXHUMATION. 


351 


stumbles which he greatly feared would rouse the dogs 
at the house and lead to a strict vigil for intruders. He 
was greatly elated when his alert ears caught no disturb- 
ing sounds, and he pursued his way more cautiously, as 
he saw that the hut was in close proximity through an 
opening between two clumps of yard poplars that had 
spread out in a wild state at the upper Northwest corner. 
Below these was the greensward on which the hut stood, 
and it was evident that the building was occupied at 
present by the stream of light that poured out against 
the grassy hillside from the aperture at the side of the 
chimney stack. 

With the stealth of a panther he crept up to the hut, 
and knowing that the little aperture was the only chance 
of getting a peep at the interior, he stole softly thereto 
and peered through. At first sight nothing met his gaze 
but the bare, rocky wall of the Eastern side of the in- 
terior, and the firelight glaring and flickering thereon 
revealed nothing worthy of note but the corner post of an 
old fashioned wooden bedsted. That was all he could see 
from his position, and there was no other that could be 
had except by opening the door. This he did not want 
to venture, and he suddenly bethought him that, if he 
could not learn anything by seeing perhaps he could by 
hearing, for it was hardly possible that the hut did not 
contain an inmate. 

Possessing an excellent hearing, Jim settled himself 
with his back in the corner of the chimney stack and 


352 


THE EXHUMATION. 


waited for the advent of any sounds from within. While 
he was waiting thus he revolved over in his mind the in- 
cident he so well remembered at the close of Hart 
Emerson’s trial when Hart had boasted of a crime that 
he had the power of undoing. That was certainly not 
the crime of manslaughter, for that was a thing that no 
man could undo. Then what could it be that he had 
reference to without it was something of the nature he 
was trying to penetrate. Try as he might Jim could not 
rid himself of the conviction that Hart had a prisoner 
confined in this little gloomy dungeon ’mid the copses 
and boulders of the little hogback spur of the mountain, 
but on further reflection he was struck by a new thought 
in regard to his identity. Suppose that Hart had im- 
prisoned his step brother herein in order to hold posses- 
sion of his property. 

Thus did the young man reflect and ponder as, with 
his back braced in the corner and his hand grasping his 
pistol butt, and eyes and ears alert, he was patiently 
waiting for the emission of some sound from within. All 
these new phases of the subject augmented the fever of 
apprehension that he had been thrown into when the 
flash of the sparks from the chimney top had flashed the 
thoughts of a possibility of the hut being the rendezvous 
of another gang of outlaws, counterfeiters, moonshiners 
or something of the kind, whose methods were secret in- 
stead of bold and intrepid, like that of the Alton gang. 
This he now discarded as impractible of application, for 


THE EXHUMATION. 


353 


there was nothing to indicate the probability of Jim’s 
flighty fancy that he had yet discovered, and he reasoned 
that the hut being most too small and gloomy for a lat- 
ter day residence, if it was the rendezvous of lawless 
operations the operators would certainly be at work to- 
night or else the place would not be occupied. That 
there was some one therein though was plain, or the fire 
would hardly be blazing so vigorously as it was when he 
peeped in, and he felt reasonably certain that no one had 
emerged. 

But patient as he was his alert ears had not yet caught 
any suspicious sound. He was getting restless, but never- 
theless he was firmly resolved to sift the matter to the 
bottom if it lay in his power before he rejoined his com- 
panions. He loosened his grasp on the revolver butt 
and with the conviction that the sound of striking a 
match could not be heard by the occupant within, he lit 
one and examined his watch by its light to relieve his 
mind of the strain. But he had no sooner thrust the 
timepiece back and turned to resume his position again 
than his quick ear caught a crackling, hissing sound from 
the interior, and he started up with renewed apprehen- 
sion and peered again through the aperture. 

This time he was rewarded by the sight of a man, 
which dispelled in an instant all his reckoning and threw 
him into a stultified stupor of chagrined amazement. His 
comprehension was dulled by the sudden revelation that 
met his gaze, and he only was conscious of a dim feeling 


354 


THE EXHUMATION. 


of a pleasant nature, and that was the thought that he 
had let the others go ahead with the exhumation. That 
seemed to be their only hope now, for if this theory was 
not exploded then there was something too intricate about 
it for mortal eyes to penetrate. The man confined in 
that little rock dungeon was no other than Boyd Emer- 
son. 

The crackling sound had been made by the man rising 
from the bed, and he now stood in the middle of the 
floor like a stone statue, glaring blankly at the firelight. 
Jim could see only his head and part of his body, and 
he mentally remarked that that was all he wanted to see. 
He had always had a natural repugnance for persons of 
unsound mind, but the sight of that gruesome looking 
figure, clad in a coarse, woolen shirt of a faded russet 
hue, and his head and face nearly covered with a matted 
growth of shaggy hair and beard, suddenly revealed to 
him, caused an involuntary shudder of ghastly repulsive- 
ness to inoculate itself into the dull, mechanical gloomi- 
ness that convulsed him at the thought of the failure of 
his theory. 

But he was not satisfied yet that he had found out all 
he could and he resolved to wait and see if the ravings 
of the poor lunatic would enlighten him. That he was 
on the point of an outburst Jim was fully confident, for 
the expression of his face, or what could be seen of it, 
plainly indicated this. 

Sooner than he expected the outburst came. Raising 


THE EXHUMATION. 


355 


his right arm as if to ward off a spectre, the lunatic com- 
menced a frantic appeal thus : 

“Ah, here you come again, curse you. Now what 
do you want this time, your money ? Oh, go away, go 
away and don’t torment me. Don’t torment me, I say,” 
he screamed, and the sound of his voice sent a thrill of 
ghastly terror through the frame of the listener. “Go 
away, and get the key to this place and let me out, and 
I will show you how to get your money.” 

Jim was in a perfect frenzy of distraction now, and 
the dismal revelation of the last few minutes was enough 
to unbalance any one. He seized at the idea that any 
one else would and could not be blamed fordoing so, but 
he was only human after all and not devoid of a certain 
amount of respect for his own opinions. To have his 
theory of the case exploded in this rude manner almost 
overcame him and made him almost wish he had not 
been so keen to join the expedition. 

Another outburst seized the inmate, and he pranced 
wildly around for a moment in a spasm of excitement, 
uttering a string of words that could not all be distin- 
guished by the watcher at the aperture, but Jim managed 
to catch a sentence that made his blood run cold and put 
to flight all doubts of Jack’s theory being the right one. 

“Now he is gone,” muttered the lunatic, “and I 
must find and restore the money for him ere he returns.” 
This was plainly audible to the young adventurer, and he 
drew back sick and faint with the overwrought feelings 


356 


THE EXHUMATION. 


of the revelation and staggered against the chimney side 
in sad dejection. The moon was drawing near the crest 
of the mountain, and when Jim had sufficiently recovered 
his equilibrium he felt a desire for something to center 
his mind on for a moment to clear it of the repulsive 
sensation, and bethought him that the moon was the only 
object that would not have a gruesome appearance just 
then. He stepped away from the slimy rock wall into 
the grass plot, bathed in the pale light of the little gleam- 
ing horn and gazed at it for a moment like some lost 
spirit gazing at the light it has forfeited. • 

“Am I awake or dreaming he muttered aloud as ' 
he saw the nearness of the little horn of light to the | 
horizon. “ I didn’t think I had been here that long, but I 
it must be ten o’clock by this time, and the moon won’t j 
more than last long enough to guide me back to the boys. ] 
But I am glad I let them go on with the digging, for it j 
is ten chances to one they’ll find what they are looking 1 
for.” And with these words, muttered in a loud, dis- 1 
tracted voice, he turned and walked rapidly up the slope 
as though pursued by some spectre similar to that of the 
lunatic’s imagination. 

Meanwhile the other four were making good progress 
at the work of excavating the spot they thought was a 
grave. They had acted as Jim had directed, and had been 
greatly elated at the apparent softness of the earth they 
were delving into, as it was evidence of the rapid solu- j 
ticpn of the problem, both in the ease of digging and the 


THE EXHUMATION. 


357 


unmistakable fact that it was a place of interment. They 
had now reached the depth of twenty inches, as shown 
by the last measurement, and Jack and Charlie were just 
commencing the third round, while Clayton and Bill were 
on the watch. The night was still undisturbed by any 
sounds except the faint strokes of the pick in the soft 
earth and the dull, grating sound of the round cornered 
shovel as Charlie filled it, and the light thud of the dis- 
charged dirt as it struck the pile near the rough sided 
excavation. 

Charlie had just thrown out the first digging and 
leaped from the pit when there was a swishing sound in 
the copse near by and the figure of a man emerged there- 
from. The moon had not yet disappeared, as it had ap- 
peared lower to Jim when he was at the hut than it would 
to those higher up the elevation, but as it was he that 
emerged from the thicket, with both inward and outward 
feelings lacerated, it was not much comfort he got from 
the following exclamation by Jack : 

“Why, hello Jim, is that you I clean forgot all 
about you, I was so absorbed in this business.” 

Jim was taken aback at this outburst, but quickly be- 
thought him that he had better explain matters to his 
companions if he wanted their sympathy. 

“You’re a Job’s comforter. Jack, I declare you are,” 
he said, trying to assume a gay tone, but the note of 
dejection in his voice betrayed his real feelings to the 
others. 


35S 


THE EXHUMATION. 


“ Why now, Jim, what’s the matter now exclaimed 
Jack, who, despite his impromptu disposition, was of a 
sympathetic nature and had no desire to inflict needless 
pain upon his fellows. 

“Why, I have found out something that makes me 
feel awfully bad,” he repeated. “Don’t interrupt me, 
boys, and I’ll tell you all about it first, and then I want 
to go to work and help out with the digging, for I’ve 
been idle so long I’ve about lost my senses anyhow, and 
if I ever stood in need of violent exercise it is now. I’ll 
tell you two about it, and then I’ll take one of your places 
and let him tell the others.” 

“ But tell us the long and the short of it, Jim,” ex- 
claimed Jack so loud that his voice roused the dogs down 
at the house and set them to howling and barking furi- 
ously. 

Jim waited for a pause in the excited chorus of yelps 
which sounded strangely near to the young men for the 
distance. The other two stood with breathless appre- 
hension awaiting his answer. 

“Well, boys, I will have to admit that you were right 
and I was wrong,” he exclaimed quickly, for fear of the 
renewal of the noise. “The long and the short of it is 
that Jason Palliser is dead, and Boyd Emerson is his 
murderer. ” 

For a brief moment there was a ghastly silence around 
the spot, only broken by the spasmodic yelps of the pack 


THE EXHUMATION. 


359 


of dogs at the house in the valley. All the hopes and 
fears of each member of the party were now either ful- 
filled or dispelled, but it still seemed unreasonable to say 
that the former applied to Jim’s last sentence. Not 
even Jack, who had been all the time convinced that 
Jason Palliser was dead, had hoped that Jim’s theory 
would result as it did. And Jim, dejected as he was, 
could not help but' see that his dejection was now 
shared by his two companions when he noticed the 
sudden drop of their jaws, the relaxed attitudes of their 
forms, and the convulsive twitching of the sinewy 
hands. 

But as usual Jack became restless at the silence, and 
broke out again with this question : 

“ Then it is Boyd that is shut up in there after all, 

is it 

Jim nodded assent, as the dogs at that moment set 
up a furious howl. 

“ Well, is this the place inquired Jack, pointing at 
the excavation with great solemnity. 

Jim came a little closer, and realizing that it would 
not be amiss to speak loudly now, he exclaimed in a 
shrill voice : 

“Ii it is not, then I misunderstood the ravings of 
the lunatic.” 

“You found that out by his ravings then inquired 
Charlie. 

“Yes, I found it all by his ravings,” replied Jim em- 


36 o 


THE EXHUMATION. 


phatically. “Now, boys, I guess you haven’t got very 
much more to do, if our calculations are correct, and if 
one of you wants to give place to me you can go and tell 
the others what I’ve discovered. I always had a repugn- 
ance for people in that sort of a fix, but the sight of that 
man, with his head and face covered with a matted growth 
of hair and beard, so that he looked not unlike a lion in 
a cage, and muttering something about a man whom he 
imagined had come to him for his money, was enough to 
take the composure out of any one in short order. If 
you want to hear him, or to hear what I heard, you can 
do so, but I don’t want any more of it. If it did not 
seem cold blooded to say it, I would rather look on Jason 
Palliser’s corpse than on the object I did to-night. That 
is, if I did not wish for Clayton’s sake that his father 
was alive, I — Well, I guess we’d better get to work, 
for I’m tired of talking and planning. All we can do 
now is to finish this job and see what we can find.” 

“ That’s so, Jim,” assented Jack, assuming a slower 
and more serious tone than he was wont to. “Take my 
place and I’ll break the news to the other boys if them 
cussed dogs don’t bring somebody down on us.” 

“That’s what I’m afraid of, ” said Charlie uneasily, 
as he cast a furtive, sweeping glance at the copse around 
them. 

Jack thought he would tell Bill first, and lastly in- 
form Clayton, so that he would have plenty of time to 
condole with him if he took the news hardly. 


THE EXHUMATION. 


361 


But, although Clayton was surprised at the enuncia- 
tion of Boyd Emerson being the murderer, he frankly 
told Jack that he never expected to see his father alive 
again, no matter whether the search of the night revealed 
anything or not. Now that Jim had ocular proof that 
his theory was incorrect, it was ten chances to one by 
the evidence in hand that before the cocks crowed for 
day the eyes of the party would behold the remains of 
Jason Palliser. 

Another hour dragged slowly by and the work went 
on, while Jack and Clayton talked to keep themselves 
awake, and the dogs had all quit barking but two of the 
young small fellows, which continued their sharp spas- 
modic yelping, greatly to the annoyance of Charlie, who, 
despite the. solemnity of the occasion, cursed them 
soundly. The owls in the forest roundabout had now 
set up a chorus of ominous hoots and screams as though 
they were a legion of evil spirits collected to mock at the 
young adventurers, but for all that as the hour was 
drawing to a close Clayton and Jack were both over- 
come with drowsiness and their conversation flagged. As 
the last minutes of the hour glided by they succumbed to 
the spell and slept, the sleep of the just as well as that 
of the healthy. 

How long they slept none of the party ever ascer- 
tained, for something else of a startling nature had hap- 
pened and they took no notice of the flight of time. The 
owls and dogs still continued their night serenade. The 


362 


THE EXHUMATION. 


moon had gone down in the West and its disappearance 
increased the darkness of the night. The two diggers 
had completed their task and prepared the rude coffin 
they had struck for hoisting before calling for their com- 
panions to come to their aid and lift it out. 

But when they called and none of them save Bill 
responded they instinctively guessed that Jack and Clay- 
ton had gone to sleep on picket. 

Suddenly an idea struck Bill, and he exclaimed : 

“ Say, boys, I make a motion that we get it out and 
see what there is in it while Clayton is asleep.” 

“That would be a good idea,” assented Charlie. 
“ But I am afraid we can’t hoist it.” 

“At any rate we can try,” responded Bill, laying 
hold of the rope. He ceased speaking and gave a pull, 
with both hands grasping the ends of the rope that had 
been carefully laid under the box. It mounted. Without 
another dissenting word Charlie and Jim took hold, and 
although it was not light the coffin and its contents were 
soon hoisted. 

“Walk round with your end. Bill,” said Jim who, 
with Charlie, had hoisted the other end. 

“I can’t, Jim,” replied Bill gaspingly. “The durn 
thing is so heavy I can’t hardly hold it up, boys, and it’s 
my idea that we won’t find no dead man in there.” 

“Then what do you think we will find. Bill asked 
Charlie incredulously. 


THE EXHUMATION. 


363 


“ I don’t know what it is, but I’ve handled enough 
dead people to know something about the weight of 
them, and I feel certain that this box does not contain a 
corpse. Hold over this way a little, and let my end rest 
on the edge. I am clean puckered out.” 

In a couple of minutes the box was set safely on the 
verge of the excavation. 

Then they stood for a moment in complete bewilder- 
ment. 

“ What has it got in it, boys.?” asked Jack in a loud, 
excited voice. 

“Gold and silver!” answered a voice near them, and 
they started up more bewildered than ever. 


■ CH APTERYX VI. 

T^HE LURKING FOE. 

So complete was their confusion at this unexpected 
turn of affairs that not one out of the three comprehended 
the full meaning of the mystical utterance. They cast 
hasty, furtive glances at the surrounding thicket, and 
discerned the form of a man standing there on the oppo- 
site side of the excavation, but that was all. 'They could 
not see his face plain enough to recognize him. All the 
old sensations of ghostlineSs' caiile oVer them when they 
first heard the voice, but it soon vanished when they saw 
the man’s form in such close proximity in the wall of 
darkness beyond the light of the lantern. For a brief 
moment it seemed to their bewildered comprehension 
that the spot was surely enchanted, but as they glared 
into the darkness and saw the figure silhouetted therein 
they slowly regained their composure, while many erratic 
thoughts flitted through their minds in regard to the 
startling enunciation. 

But the seconds flew rapidly by and the noises of the 
night, which had grown dim to their senses, so suddenly 
enveloped in such a maze of bewildering circum.stances, 
seemed to increase as they recovered their equilibrium 
and one and all were making a desperate effort to form 



Well dp I look like a desperado ?’* 














THE LURKING FOE. 


367 


a correct solution. But Jim, remembering his lecture on 
the subject of superstitious fears, and also that he was 
expected to act quickly and promptly in cases of 
emergency like this, finally found his speech and spoke, 
breaking the dread silence : 

“Since you have told part of it come into the light 
where we can see you and tell us the rest,” he exclaimed, 
and the figure in the dark answered back : 

“ But I’m afraid you would all be afraid of me if you 
saw my face.” 

“Well, tell us who you are then,” responded Jim. 

But the voice did not reply at once, and that caused 
a spasm of alarm, not unmixed with fear to sweep over 
them. Jim turned to Bill and said in a loud whisper : 

“Go wake the other boys. Bill. I’m afraid there is 
mischief afoot.” 

Bill started to obey, and when he had gone about 
ten paces he heard the voice in the dark say: 

“ If I tell you who I am perhaps you can guess the 
rest. Shall I tell you 

“ You mean us no harm, then 

“No, indeed. I would hardly harm anybody I con- 
sider as friends. ” 

“Then you may tell us what you are, for we are just 
dying with curiosity.” 

On hearing the voice Bill, thinking he might strike a 
clue to the mystery by listening, had stopped near the 


368 


THE LURKING FOE. 


wagon and stood listening. His herring was good, and 
he caught the drift of the bandied confab between Jim 
and the figure. He waited for the voice in the dark to 
explain, and he did so with the idea that he would break 
the news to Clayton abruptly and ward off any melan- 
coly feelings that might possess him. 

“ Well, I don’t think it will be any trouble for you to 
guess who I am when I tell you what I am,” said the 
figure. “Believe me, then, and I’ll tell you. I am the 
rightful heir to the contents of that box you have ex- 
humed from the spot where it was buried many years 
ago. ” 

Like a flash of lightning from* a clear sky it was now 
plain to them that the long lost treasure was before them, 
as well as its rightful owner, and both having a grue- 
some, mysterious history, it was no wonder the young 
men felt dazed and stupefied at such a stupendous reve- 
lation, and could find no words in which to reply. Jim 
had a strong conviction that Tom Alton was alive yet, 
but he fancied him either a victim of Hart Emerson’s 
treachery or a partner in his crimes, but which he neither 
cared nor specified. And as it is natural for human com- 
prehension to grasp at exterior appearances, Jim based 
his conclusions upon Hart’s drunken confession, and the 
startling enunciation naturally caused him to recall his 
own theory, now that Jack’s was thoroughly dissected. 
“Now, then,” he thought, “whoever is right, or who- 
ever is wrong, we’ll soon learn,” 


THE LURKING FOE. 


369 


“You are then Tom Alton, are you? Well, Tom, 
I feel quite sure that if you do happen to be what you 
are reported to be, you have not lost the chivalrous 
nature of your race. Come out into the light and let us 
see your face.” 

Jim Carver was acquitting the position he filled 
grandly. We have stated before that he was the equal 
of Clayton in intellectual and mental powers. But in a 
position like the one he now occupied it is doubtful if 
Clayton would have possessed as wide a range of thought 
under such a startling, suddenly developed ordeal. Jim 
had realized that as the noted Tom Alton was now in 
their presence that his thoughtful appeal to the pride 
and chivalry of his race was their only weapon of de- 
fense if he had abandoned the straight and narrow paths 
of honesty for the crooked and thorny paths of outlawr}^ 
sin, and high crimes and misdemeanors. But the man 
stepped out of the darkness and into the light, and when 
Jim and Charlie had scanned his visage closely in the 
bright light of the lantern they both mentally remarked 
that this man with the gruesome history looked like any- 
thing but the fierce, bloodthirsty bandit that he had been 
painted. 

A round face, with two flashing blue eyes that shone 
clearly with a sane, beaming light of honesty and truth, 
with a long, flowing brown beard that covered his 
shirt front, and dressed in a heavy woolen suit of bluish 
black clothes, with a broad brimmed slouch hat set 


370 


THE LURKING FOE. 


jauntily on the side of his head, gave the newcomer the 
appearance of a rough backwoods preacher. 

“Well, do I look like a desperado, young men he 
asked presently with a mischievous twinkle in the big, 
blue eyes. The two young adventurers were both in- 
spired with confidence when they noted the genial ex- 
pression of the intruder’s visage. Yet they mentally 
remarked that he was a man who looked as though he 
would stand no trifling, and they knew that they would 
either have to trust him wholly or not at all. That face, 
so long hidden from the eyes of the inhabitants of its 
native community, seemed to say as plainly as if it had 
been engraved in glaring letters: “Trust me or not, just 
as you please. I shall not beg you to trust me.” 

“You certainly do not,” replied Jim in a tone that 
corroborated his words. “ Since you have turned up 
alive don’t you think it would be a good idea to give an 
account of yourself and the cause of your long absence.?” 

“I think it would, and I will do so when the time 
comes. My name, you know, has been dragged down in 
the mud by some unscrupulous adventurer, and it is 
natural that people who once knew me should be a little 
curious about me, as well as afraid. I think that there 
are two of your party that can clear rne in the eyes of 
these, my neighbors, by telling what they know. Bill 
Thornton is a brick, isn’t he .? It is he that can tell you 
that the description, that is in the hands of all the sheriffs 
of the country, does not tally with the description of the 


THE LURKING FOE. 


371 


Fox Valley bandit chief. And Clayton Palliser can tell 
you something about me too, but it won’t hardly be re- 
liable, as he only has my word for it.” 

Jim and Charlie looked at each other in utter aston- 
ishment. How did he know Clayton } Had Clayton 
ever met with him ? Would revelation never cease ? 

Before any of them spoke again Bill and the other 
two rejoined them. 

Jim did not forget that he was master of ceremonies, 
and quickly stepping up to Clayton he pointed to the 
newcomer and said : 

“Clayton, did you ever meet with that man before?” 

With a look of pleased recognition, Clayton and the 
intruder gazed at each other for a second, and then Clay- 
ton answered in the affirmative. Jack was bursting with 
curiosity, while the others were but little less apprehen- 
sive than he. He forgot that his own pet idea had proven 
incorrect, and stood like one just awakened from a dream 
to find it a reality. All the romantic events recorded in 
his books seemed tame in comparison to the unearthed 
mysteries of the night. Then he thought, “ ther« is still 
a chance that Jason Palliser is alive, and I hope to God 
that he is for Clayton’s sake, but it seems like we have 
all been fooled in our calculations.” 

Clayton’s thoughts were much the same as Jack’s. 
That both theories were void of results in their favor was 
patent to him as well as the others, and when he recog- 


372 


THE LURKING FOE. 


nized in the man before him the first lieutenant of the 
Fox Valley stranglers he felt a vague premonition of a 
future solution of the puzzling mystery when he recalled 
the incident of the night ride over the mountains, and 
remembered how he had been startled at the strange 
likeness of this man’s companion to his grandfather. 
Clayton had often asserted, and no one had any inclina- 
tion to doubt that he meant it, that the money that had 
been lost with the loss of his parent was a heavy loss, as 
it involved nearly their all, but it was insignificant to the 
loss of the loved member of the family. Gladly would 
they have relinquished the money if they could once 
more have seen Jason Palliser alive and well. 

“Well, since you remember having seen me do you 
remember anything I told .you asked the man, as he 
produced from his coat pocket a pipe case and took there- 
from a short briar pipe. 

“I remember all,” replied Clayton, “ but particularly 
that you told us that you were a member of the Fox 
Valley stranglers.” 

“That doesn’t look much like I was a bandit chief, 
does it } But in order to save time I will be brief, and 
explain all I can now in as few words as possible. My 
full name is Andrew Thomas Alton at your service, and I 
am at present Andy Thomas, first lieutenant of the 
stranglers. You see I am not afraid to confide in you,” 
casting a sweeping glance around the group, indicating 
them all, “for I know enough of you all to know that 


THE LURKING FOE. 


373 


you have grand, generous natures, free from treachery 
and deceit, and if I can succeed in convincing you that I 
am an honest man and a victim of circumstances that no 
man can foresee, I am confident that you 'will do all in 
y6ur power to aid me. Now then, you see Lam a pretty 
good judge of human nature. There lies at our feet the 
long lost hoard of my grandfather, which is without 
doubt a fortune in itself in pure round American dollars 
that might have lain there for ages to come if you young 
men had not discovered it by accident. I don’t say that 
you were under the impression that you would find it 
here, for aside from what I overheard, I know exactly 
what you sought here — something that has been too deep 
for your penetration. Ah, my friends, you are wise men 
in your day, but you little understand the deep, intricate 
machinations that the human mind is capable of. I am, 
so I believe, several years older than the oldest one of 
you, and added years are bound to bring increased knowl- 
edge. But I have been at work on this same case my- 
self for the last eighteen months, and I have not yet 
been able to enlighten myself with a knowledge of the 
whole mystery. Only a part of it have I succeeded in 
unearthing. But I have forgotten what I was going to 
say about the treasure there. Oh yes, I have it now. 
I was going to say that a mean vulgar mind would have 
jumped at the idea of seizing this recovered wealth and 
bribing you to aid in the extrication of its owner, but 
you see I know you better than that. I know you well 


374 


THE LURKING FOE. 


enough to refrain from any attempt of that kind, but 
hope that you will be convinced of my innocence, and I 
have no fears about obtaining your aid after that.” 

Alton ceased speaking and glanced around the group 
to note the effect of his speech. He was gratified at the 
beaming light of confident admiration in their eyes, and 
proceeded to fill his pipe, but his gaze was riveted upon 
Jack in a half amused expression, and his thoughts ran 
like this: “Just like I used to be for the world, with 
the same impatient, restless, active minded disposition ; 
the same irrepressible spirit, and, by jove, there is the 
same droop of the jaws that Bill Nash used to quiz me 
about when I was under a spell of excitement. Well, I 
always did argue that a soil that was strong enough to 
grow rank weeds would produce cereals just as rank, and 
his mind is the weed matted soil just now, just as mine 
was. He’ll get over that by and by, and then I believe 
there will be no smarter man in the community than Jack 
Dalton. Yet I am not opposed to letting young people 
read fiction by no means, for I believe it enlarges their 
minds and gives them a taste for all that is noble and 
elevating. Those minds that are led astray by it are 
only the weak and barren ones that are of no force in 
the world’s advance and had better be out of the way. 
There is Hart, for instance, as a sample. He would not 
read anything, much lest a novel. His whole mind was 
engrossed with planning and scheming for his own ad- 
vancement. Selfishness was a marked trait of his char- 


THE LURKING FOE. 


375 


acter, but I have found out that the cold blooded plotters 
of the world do not spring from the reading class of 
people. The devil enters the temple of clay and finds 
no well laid bulwarks of enlightenment, takes complete 
control and leads the victim on to an untimely end.” 

With this he ended his cogitations and lit hts pipe, 
while the others stood in deep reflection. 

“ You must understand, Alton,” said Jim persuasively, 
“that we have been through a great amount of excite- 
ment to-night, and although we have no doubt of your 
honesty, yet it is hard for us to adopt ourselves readily 
to the conditions you mentioned. What else can you 
say in your favor that would convince us of your worthi- 
ness, ” 

Alton removed his pipe from his mouth and gazed at 
Jim reflectively. 

‘ ‘ Perhaps you don’t know that there is a connecting 
link between me and Clayton Palliser ? I have some one 
who is my friend and companion that will gladly cor- 
roborate any statement of mine, and he is the very man 
you are in search of. ” 

A thrill of joyful surprise convulsed the whole party, 
but they made no answer. A silence, solemn and im- 
pressive, ensued, which not even the dogs nor the owls 
had the rudeness to break, as they had ceased their noise 
and the night was again undisturbed by any rude sounds. 
The maze of joyful feeling that enveloped them at the 
welcome enunciation eliminated any vestige of doubt in 


376 


THE LURKING FOE. 


their minds as to the honesty of the long absent heir of 
the old Alton homestead and the buried fortune they had 
exhumed in search of the remains of the man this mys- 
terious person had told them was yet alive. 

“Then it was my father that looked into my face 
that night we met, was it not r' asked Clayton in a 
tremulous, joyful tone. 

“ It was,” replied Alton, with a serious, emphatic nod. 
“Don’t you remember how he rode away from you, for 
fear you would recognize him 

“Ye-es,” replied Clayton absently. “Was that 
what made him ride on and give place to you 

“That was his motive,” answered Alton, and then he 
raised his hand with a warning gesture and continued : 
“But mind you now, don’t ask me any more just now, 
for if you can trust me I would suggest that you aid me 
first in getting this box to the house, and then spend the 
night with me. Then when you are rested and refreshed 
good I will tell you all I know about these puzzling 
mysteries. ” 

“But where do you live.?” blurted Jack, who had a 
mind ever ready to tackle a mystery. 

“Why,” replied Alton with a merry twinkle in his 
eye, “I live down here in the valley. Did you think I 
lived in some of these caves around here .?” 

“No, but I thought Hart Emerson lived there,” re- 
plied Jack a little slower. 


THE LURKING FOE. 


377 


“No, Hart lives at Springfield now,” replied Alton. 
“ He has deeded me back my property, and if I can suc- 
ceed in turning the tide of public opinion, I will be a 
happy man once more. My first object now is to get 
this money safely put away, and then, if you feel satisfied 
with what I tell you, I feel sure that you will aid me. 
My next object will be to capture and bring to justice 
this daring freebooter who has assumed my name. 
Thornton, I reckon you can tell them something that 
will help me, can’t you 

“I can tell them that you are not the chief of the 
Fox Valley outlaws,” said Bill. 

Alton gave another emphatic nod and continued thus : 
“Good. Now what else could be said that could aid me 
more than that ? Joe Martin broke the ice for me and 
got himself into trouble for it, which I got him out of, 
but it is not likely that you young men run any risks 
living over in this beat. But the night is passing and 
time is precious, so let us get down to business. You 
will understand me now, boys. I am first lieutenant of 
the stranglers while Jason Palliser is second, but for 
reasons best known to ourselves we prefer not to be 
known to the people at large for a while longer. Only 
a select few, selected by ourselves, shall know the secret 
of our lives.” 

“But we must consult with each other a little before 
we decide,” cautiously replied Clayton. 

“Very well,” answered Alton as he replaced his pipe 


378 


THE LURKING FOE. 


in his mouth. He took a few strong whiffs and then 
again took it from his lips and said : “I will stay here 
and you can go off a piece and decide, but I don’t want 
you to think I am yearning because Jason Palliser is not 
with me, for he is now in Fox Valley attending to his 
duties, whither I shall go myself very soon.*^ 

“Then why are you here now asked Clayton. “Did 
you know of this expedition we had planned and staid on 
purpose to enlighten us 

“I did both,” answered Tom, “but I had no idea 
you would pay the old stone house a visit in quest of in- 
formation. ” 

All of them stared, but Jim stared a little harder than 
the rest. As many startling points as they had struck 
none of them guessed that he knew of Jim’s visit to the 
little stone hut. 

“How did you find that out.?” asked Jim. 

“Because I was in there when you were there. No, 
don’t ask me any more now, as you’ll have me pumped 
the first thing I know. I will leave you to guess at the 
rest, but for the present let us postpone the matter till 
to-morrow. If you decide to stop over night I will be 
proud to show to you that the hospitable reputation of 
that old house is no more extinct than the family that 
founded it.” 

This last sentence was spoken with great feeling, and 
went far towards hastening the conclusion of the young 


THE LURKING FOE. 


379 


adventurers. Jim suggested that they comply and they 
readily assented, feeling that perhaps this man had been 
as deeply wronged as the one they were seeking. 

While the rest of the party was sent to the house 
after a conveyance Jack was left to guard the box. The 
wagon could not be used for the purpose, as it would be 
filled when they had stowed all of their things therein. 
When they returned the wagon was to be reloaded and 
they were to drive down and spend the night with the 
returned master of the old Alton homestead. 

Jack had abundant food for reflection while they were 
gone, and he strove hard to form a more correct idea of 
the secrets to be revealed on the morrow. He felt a 
little chagrined at the futility of his theory, and owned 
that Jim had beaten him after all in a correct solution, 
but he still could not help feeling glad for his friend’s 
sake that it had resulted as it did. On further reflection 
he reasoned that Jim had the advantage of him in know- 
ing the history of the spot and also had heard Hart Emer- 
son’s drunken confession, which he — Jack — had con- 
strued into meaning that Hart had hired some one to 
murder Fannie Benton, and could if he chose squeal 
on him and bring him to justice without danger to himself. 
But what most puzzled Jack was the assertion by Tom 
Alton that he was in the stone house when Jim was there. 
Surely he would not be intrepid enough to enter there 
with a madman for a host who would be apt to rend 
him to pieces. No, that could hardly be possible. Then 


380 


THE LURKING FOE. 


how could it be ? Jack would have given a good sum to 
have some plausible idea strike him. He studied hard 
for a moment, and presently a happy thought struck him, 
and he jumped up from his seat on the grass and slapped 
his leg with his broad palm like a newsboy that had 
found a dollar. 

“Now I have it,” he exclaimed excitedly. “This 
Tom Alton is playing the lunatic for some purpose which 
I will have to study further to make out. He certainly 
was not fool enough to go in there with Boyd and him 
ravin’ mad. Why, they say a madman has the strength 
of four sane ones, and Boyd, if they have got him in 
there, could easily overpower him and get away. Bet a 
hundred that Boyd has got out and they are shamming 
that way to keep the people from bein’ uneasy — but no, 
that won’t do either. Maybe Jim was right when he 
thought they had Clayton’s pa shut up there after all, 
since he has turned out to be alive. 

Jack ceased his soliloquy and tumbled over on the 
grass again, but as he did so there was a sharp report 
near by, and Jack felt a bullet whiz past his head just as 
he relaxed his poise. He turned his head quickly and 
saw a little puff of smoke drifting away out of the 
thicket, and it suddenly dawned upon him that there 
must be treachery afoot. All the assertions of the new 
ally he now thought were false, and a terrible foreboding 
swept over him. What if this same Tom Alton was only 
a slick-tongued villain after all, and was planning to 


THE LURKING FOE. 


381 


divide the party and murder them separately ? All this 
flashed through his mind in much less time than it takes 
to record it, and he rose again to his feet with a bold 
resolve. That was to sell his life as dearly as possible. 

He was a dead shot and a quick one, as we have be- 
fore recorded a specimen of his marksmanship. He took 
aim at the puff of white smoke. It was now past mid- 
night and the darkness was lessening. He did not re- 
quire a great length of time to take sight. The revolver 
was no more than leveled than there was a stunning 
report, a long, slim blaze of fire, and the night air rang 
with a blood-curdling yell as. the echo of the big revolver 
died away in the recesses of the valley. 

Jack heard the clatter of horses’ feet in the road and 
the whir of wheels, while the dogs down at the house 
again bounded forth with furious barking. He was be- 
wildered almost out of his senses for a moment, but 
finally recovered, and when he heard the familiar voice 
of Clayton near by he turned and confronted the party 
he had feared was betrayed. 


CHAPTER XVII. 


TOM Alton’s story. 

“What on earth is the matter, Jack.?” anxiously in- 
quired Clayton as he stepped within the light and saw his 
friend standing with his still smoking revolver in his hand. 
Jack gave a gasp for mere joy when he found himself 
once more with his friends, and the terrible spasm of 
horrible suspicion vanished from his m3^stified brain. 

‘ ‘ Oh, golly, elate, ” he answered, ‘ T’ve been enveloped 
in a terrible nightmare of suspicion just now and have 
killed somebody as sure as my name is Jack Dalton.” 

“Killed somebody ?” reiterated the others in chorus. 
“What did you do it for.?” continued Clayton. 

“Because they tried to kill me,” exclaimed Jack in- 
dignantly. 

Then when they pressed him for an explanation he 
explained everything that had happened in their absence, 
not omitting his cogitations on the subject of the little 
stone asylum and its inmate. 

“Well, we must look into the affair and see who it 
was that tried to bushwhack you, ” said Jim. ‘ ‘ We have 
nothing to fear at the hands of our new ally, for Bill 
Nash also recommends him, and you know Bill is square. 
(382) 



They beheld the stricken foe stretched out on his back 
apparently lifeless. 




TOM Alton’s story. 


385 


I guess he is one of the select few he mentioned, and 
for my part I believe he is square himself.” 

“Where is he inquired Jack anxiously. He wanted 
to tell them of the terrible suspicion that had swept over 
him when the lurking enemy had fired at him from the 
copse, but did not wish it to reach the ears of Alton. 

“He’s coming with the wagon and the two blacks 
that stay there,” replied Charlie. “But I’m awfully 
anxious to know who it was that attacked you, and what 
his motive was. Let us look for him a little while they 
are coming.” 

“Oh, he’s turned up his toes, boys, and don’t you 
forget it,” exclaimed Jack, as he pointed to the spot 
where he had directed his shot, and drew a long breath 
of relief. 

“Well, let’s see about it then,” said Jim, as he led 
the way to the place indicated, which was about ten feet 
above the plum tree where the wagon stood. Here was 
a thick growth of hazels, with a tall stump in the center, 
which was large enough to shield a man from danger of 
discovery or any shots directed at him if he was wise 
enough to stay behind it. A small opening led from the 
old stump directly toward the excavation where Jack was 
stationed, which afforded a splendid opportunity for 
taking aim at him from behind the stump. But it was 
a lucky thing for Jack that the lurking enemy, who was 
no other than Bob Willis, had thought that his shot had 
removed the bar between him and the coveted prize, and 


386 


TOM Alton’s story. 


ventured out from his hiding place. Strange coincidence 
that Bob and his pal, Manton Brightwood, had set this 
very night for their own expedition, and having arrived 
on the scene to find that they were too late, they held a 
hurried council, decided to wait for a chance to sneak off 
with the treasure if it were possible. They had brought 
with them tools with which to work, just as our friends 
had, and a two-horse buggy strong enough to carry the 
prize away in. Bob instructed Manton to stay with the 
team and sought out the hiding place which afforded 
him such a fair shot at the bar between him and fortune. 
He waited patiently for the victim to get into a position 
which would insure quick work, and when Jack rose to 
his feet he took aim at him, but hearing Jack’s muttering 
he desisted, thinking it might be some one else that he 
was talking to. When at last he satisfied himself that 
Jack was alone he fired, and Jack tumbled over, as he 
thought, from his shot, and waiting a brief second he 
moved out from his hiding place, but owing to the pow- 
der smoke that shone white and dazzling in the rays of 
the lantern he could not tell that his opponent was yet 
alive and alert till he was startled by the report of Jack’s 
revolver and felt the ball strike him in the stomach, 
uttering the loud screech of pain heard by Jack, he 
tumbled over and stretched out on the ground and then 
into oblivion. No one knew how the cowardly com- 
panion awaiting results while sitting in the cushioned seat 
of the buggy dreaming of the life of ease and luxury 


TOM Alton’s story. 


387 


that awaited him had suddenly been awakened from the 
dream, and realizing that delay was dangerous had merci- 
lessly applied the whip to the horses’ backs and sped 
away up the mountain. 

Jack had stepped in front of Jim and reached the 
border of the thicket before the others did, and cautious- 
ly peering through the opening saw in the dim starlight 
the old stump, and his excited fancy at once construed it 
into the form of a man. 

“Here, Bill, give me the lantern a minute,” he ex- 
claimed excitedly. “I see something that looks like a 
man in there.” 

His companions laughed at his imagination. 

“Oh, no joke, I guess not,” laughingly exclaimed 
Bill, as he came forward and handed Jack the lantern. 
“I guess if there was anymore of them here they would 
have fled when they heard you begin to shoot. But I’m 
curious to know what the fellow is after anyhow. ” 

“It couldn’t have been Milt,” remarked Jack, as he 
held the lantern so that its rays shone upon the object of 
his fears. “He went out of the world through the hemp 
route at the hands of the stranglers a little while back, 
and they are the last men in the world to hang anybody 
by mistake. Why, Milt was marked with a smooth crop 
off of the right ear, and they would have kno’ed him by 
that. No, it’s only a stump, boys; but what is that piled 
up there in the leaves if it ain’t a dead man ? My, but 


388 


TOM ALTON S STORY. 


I’d hate it if I’d killed a man, but it was either kill or 
be killed, you see. ” 

“Of course. Jack.” assured Clayton, as he scrambled 
in behind, closely followed by the others. Jack held the 
lantern up and pushed back the overhanging^ brush, then 
held the lantern so its rays fell obliquely upon the form 
at their feet. They beheld the stricken foe stretched out 
on his back apparently lifeless. 

A spasm of commingled emotions convulsed Jack 
Dalton when he recognized in the assassin the lover of 
the girl that made her home with his kinsman. A thou- 
sand wild thoughts flashed through his mind, already 
overwrought with the exciting revelations of the night, 
and he stood like one turned to stone, while the voices 
of his companions sounded ghostly and muffled in his 
ears. How could he tell his relatives that it was Lottie’s 
lover that he had killed in self defense. Could he ever 
look into her pretty face again without a feeling of re- 
morse that she had been bereft of her lover at his hands. 
His knowledge of woman’s nature told him that she 
would be prone to believe her lover a villain, and if she 
loved him truly the knowledge that he was a villain would 
make but scant difference as women love. He thought 
of all the unfolded mysteries of the night, and wondered 
what would be next, but he heartily wished that be was 
at home now, where he could have a good talk with his 
mother, who had often soothed his perturbed spirit by 
her motherly recital of the intricate machinations of the 


TOM Alton’s story. 


389 


world and its contents. Even now, while his perturbed, 
overwrought mind was picturing gloomy events of the 
future things were not so dark as they seemed. 

“Hello there, boys, what’s up now.?” called a familiar 
voice from the border of the thicket. The rattle of a 
vehicle was also heard near by, and as Bill Nash scrambled 
into the opening where they stood over the dead body of 
Bob Willis, as they supposed, Tom Alton drove up with 
the two negroes in the wagon and leaped out. 

Bill was allowed room to examine the prostrate form, 
and when he descried the features of the man he ex- 
claimed excitedly: 

“ Bob Willis, as sure as shooting. What in the name 
of all that’s holy do you think brought him here to- 
night .?” 

“Is it Bob Willis, Bill.?” inquired Tom Alton from 
the edge of the thicket. “What’s up, anyhow, boys.?” 

“Let’s carry him out of here,” said Jim authoritative- 
ly. “ We can’t all get around him in here.” Then he 
answered Alton’s query thus : “Yes, it is Bob Willis, 
and he tried to kill Jack and Jack turned the tables on 
him. He didn’t hit you, did he. Jack.? I never thought 
to ask you.” 

“No, he didn’t hit me, but he came awfully close to 
it,” replied Jack. “I guess I was too badly excited to 
give 3^011 a clear account of every detail of the case, and 
may have omitted to tell you how I dropped suddenly 


390 


TOM ALTON S STORY, 


down on the grass and the bullet whizzed past my head 
just as I relaxed balance.” 

Tom Alton gazed at the face of the stricken man 
with a strange expre5sion when they had lugged him out 
of the thicket and laid him on the greensward. He 
knelt on the grass beside him and scrutinized him closely 
for any sign of remaining life. He examined the pulsa- 
tion of the temples, the heart and the wrists and shook 
his head meaningly. The others looked on in silence, 
and Jack was for the first time in his life sorrowful and 
gloomy when he found that life was extinct in the body 
of his stricken assailant. 

Alton rose from his kneeling position. “We will 
take him to the stone cabin down there until to-morrow, 
and then we will give him a Christian burial,” he enunci- 
ated. “But, my friends, you may not believe me, but 
Bob was a bad egg and no doubt deserved what he got. 
I know his history as well as he himself, and to-morrow 
when we have given him a decent burial, and I have re- 
lated my own experience and the cause of my long 
absence from this my native community, I want to lay 
before you in black and white something that will en- 
lighten you in regard to the career of Hart Emerson and 
this fellow that has met his death here to-night.” 

“But do you have any idea what he was doing here 
to-night, and why he tried to kill Jack asked Bill, who 
had an idea that he held the key to all of . the mysteries 
that had engrossed the minds of the people for so long. 


TOM Alton’s story. 


391 


“Yes, I have an idea,” replied Alton, in a slow, 
cautious tone. “But we won’t talk of it now. Let us 
make haste now and get him and the box into the little 
rock house, and to-morrow I will tell you all I know 
about everything.” 

The others were getting drowsy, and now showed a 
desire to bring operations to a close for the night, and as 
they were now on the premises of Tom Alton they acted 
under his orders. Everything, including the dead man 
and all, were loaded in the vehicles and conveyed to the 
house. When they arrived there Alton instructed Jack 
and one of the negroes to put up their team while him- 
self and the others conveyed the dead man and the box 
of money to the stone cabin, where they would be locked 
up for safe keeping. He opened the gate near the barn 
where a road ran along the lot fence and meandered up 
the point in the direction of the hut, and the negro that 
answered to the name of Monroe, being the trusted con- 
fident of both the old and new masters, drove the two 
strange objects in the wagon on toward the place, fol- 
lowed by the party on foot. 

This road was one used as a wood road, a road over 
which wood for general use at the house was conveyed 
from the forest that lay back of the stone cabin on the 
slope of the spur. Its course ran within about fifty 
yards of the cabin, just below it, skirting an old worm- 
eaten fence that the brush had nearly hidden from view, 
and in order to get to the cabin it was necessary to make 


392 


TOM Alton’s story. 


an opening through it. This was quickly accomplished 
by able and willing hands, and the vehicle with its strange 
load drew up before the door of the little stone prison 
that was wrapped in so much mystery. 

It was not to be disputed that Jim was all the time 
under a spell of gruesome curiosity when he remembered 
all that had happened and heard Alton’s mysterious talk 
about this little structure, where he had undergone such 
unpleasant sensations a few hours back. Curiosity is 
much the same in all people, and neither Jim nor his 
companions could help but wonder whether the hut con- 
tained the insane person of Boyd Emerson or whether it 
was only a magician’s spell that Jim was under when he 
visited here. 

When Alton unlocked and threw open the door they 
all gazed furtively in with feelings better imagined than 
described. But they saw nothing, only an old chair in 
the dull light of the fire, now subsided into a bed of 
glowing embers. More mystified than ever, they aided 
in carrying first the box and then the body into the 
room, and when they had cast hasty, furtive glances 
around they saw nothing more, only the old red wooden 
bedstead, made after the clumsy fashion of the time, 
with massive corner posts, the tops decorated with round 
balls and painted a different color than the bodies, 
though what the color of these globes originally had been 
was hard to tell — a small home-wrought table piled with 
books, papers and magazines, and the old chair they had 


TOM Alton’s story. 


first seen when they looked in — this constituted the sole 
furniture of the room, but no sign of a human being 
save those that had entered with them could any of them 
detect. Jim felt very much as though he had been under 
a magician’s spell or had been dreaming, but Alton 
noticed the agitated state of his companions, particularly 
Jim’s, and when they had arranged the two objects to his 
satisfaction he remarked : 

“Strange, isn’t it, that the lunatic should have dis- 
appeared so quickly.?” 

But they did not press him for an explanation, and 
they took their departure for the house in a short time. 
In less than an hour from that time our young adventur- 
ers were under the roof of the man they supposed to he. 
a desperate outlaw with a price on his head, and wrapped 
in a pleasant maze of wonder at the interior splendor of 
the old house, noted so much for its profuse Southern 
hospitality. 

The morning sun was throwing a flood of golden 
light over the landscape, and the stillness was unbroken 
by any sounds when the young men, to whom had been, 
allotted a room to themselves where they at last slum- 
bered, were awakened by a vigorous knock on their door. . 
Clayton, who had become a light sleeper by lying awake 
nights studying over the mystery of his father’s disap- 
pearance and easily wakened, started up, and when he 
recovered his senses, invited the knocker, whom he 
thought was Alton, to come in. The other boys still lay 


394 


TOM ALTON S STORY. 


in a torpor, although they were awake, and Alton opened 
the door and stepped in. 

He made no remark till he closed the door, and then 
he sat down in one of the chairs and exclaimed : 

“Ah ha, you’re awake, are you ^ or did I wake you 
when I knocked .? I can easil}^ guess why you are a light 
sleeper, but I see the other boys have slept well in spite 
of the excitement they underwent last night. I must 
urge you to hurry up and dress and get ready for break- 
fast, as it will soon be ready.” 

The other boys, remembering that they were to hear 
the unraveling of the things they did not understand, 
shook off the torpid spell and rose and dressed as quickly 
as they could. Their senses were somewhat benumbed 
by the long contact with the night air, the labor of ex- 
huming and the magic revelations of the night, and by 
the time they were dressed they heard the jingle of the 
first bell from the dining room and hurried out. 

The meal passed with only an occasional remark, and 
when it was over they all went into the sitting room, 
where a fire had been kindled and was now blazing^ 
brightly. Clayton was thinking that this splendid home 
would have been his if it had not been for somebody’s 
treachery as they seated themselves around the fire. 
Alton produced a box of pipes and offered them one, 
which they politely refused, as none of them smoked. 

“So much the better for you,” he said. “I learnt 
that while in the army, but if it bothers any of you to 


TOM Alton’s story. 


395 


smell tobacco smoke I will desist. I can collect my mind 
much better, though, if I smoke.” 

All of them assured him that his smoking would not 
inconvenience them, as they were all used to it, some 
members of their families being inveterate smokers. 

‘ ‘ I have concluded to change the programme a little, ” 
explained Tom, as he filled his pipe. “I have instructed 
Nash to take charge of the digging and prepare to bury 
the poor wretch who lost his life last night while I ex- 
plain to you some of these mystic affairs. I will tell you 
what I have already told Bill and old man Benton, who 
will aid the negroes in the digging. Then by that time 
they will be nearly done and we will help in the inter- 
ment. ” 

“Very well, Mr. Alton,” answered Clayton. 

Alton filled and lit his pipe, sat down in a chair near 
the bookstand in the corner and faced his audience like 
an orator beginning his maiden speech. He smoked on 
in silence for a moment while the boys all remained silent, 
knowing that he was collecting the events of the last few 
years of his life for reciting to them. 

Presently Alton laid down his pipe and a wave of ap- 
prehension swept over the attentive audience. 

“I might as well commence nowand begin at the 
beginning and smoke afterward,” he enunciated. “Now 
listen closely and don’t let your minds stray off on some- 
thing else while I am talking. You all know part of my 


396 


TOM Alton’s story. 


history, but I am only going to relate what transpired 
from the time I left home for the army up to the present. 

Now, I guess you all know how my mother, my sweet- 
heart, and a great many of my neighbors kicked when 
they found out my intention of joining the Union army. 
When it transpired that I had done so their rage at me 
was complete, and instead of leaving home with friends 
and relatives bidding me good speed I rode away ’mid their 
anathemas, feeling somewhat dejected, but nevertheless 
sternly resolved to uphold my cause to my utmost ability. 
I had a few of my neighbors with me, however, and 
derived much comfort from that, but still I could have 
gone away much better nerved for the trying ordeal if it 
had not been as it was. I think I learned much by my 
misfortunes though, and among other things I have found 
out that those who are rich and high mettled are just as 
liable to unhappiness as those of humble degree. Pride 
and vanity never fail to inflict austere punishment upon 
those who by their worldly-mindedness allow them to 
have their full sway, and it is the proud and high mettled 
that manufacture so much sorrow for themselves and 
others. If I had been a poor man, surrounded by a 
blooming family, knit together in strong bonds of affec- 
tion, I would have been monarch of all I surveyed, lihe 
Selkirk in his island home, and would have returned home 
like my companions and settled down again to content 
and happiness. But no, I wanted to travel and see the 
world, and absent myself from those I had loved for a 


TOM Alton’s story. 


397 


time until they should forget their animosity and long for 
my return. I never knew that I had been reported 
killed in the battle of Pea Ridge till about eighteen 
months ago, when I happened to write to my cousin Nick, 
and he replied as soon as he received the letter and told 
me all.” 

Alton ceased talking and drew from his inner coat 
pocket a letter. ‘ ‘ Here, ” he said, ‘ ‘ is the letter he wrote 
to me which brought me home. You see it is directed 
to A. T. Alton, New Orleans.” Tom handed the letter 
to Jim, who was sitting near him, and Jim asked him if 
he should read it to the others. Tom replied that of 
course he should, and Jim assumed a clerical mien and 
read the letter, which was short and to the point : 

“Dear Tom : — I am more than glad to find that you 
are alive yet, but I have much to tell you when you come 
home. Have you never been apprised of the fact that 
Tom Alton is the desperate leader of a gang of outlaws 
that have been tearing things up pretty lively here for the 
last five years or more Then we heard that you were 
killed in the battle of Pea Ridge, and we have believed 
it till now. Your name is a terror to the inhabitants of 
the country, and as you know you were somewhat wild 
when a young man, it is easy for them to believe the 
story. Now, Tom, writing always was a bugbear to me, 
and I can’t think of anything that would interest a high 
minded person like you, with a head chock full of knowl- 
edge. You say you have been to South America, Well, 


398 


TOM Alton’s story. 


then you will have lots to tell when you come home. 
But I would advise you to be careful and not expose 
yourself, for there are people who are so enraged that 
they would show you no mercy, Come to my house first 
and I will instruct you still more on the subject before 
you venture out much. 

Yours in haste, Nick.” 

Jim looked at his companions meaningly, and re- 
placed the letter in the envelope and handed it back to 
Tom, who sat staring with a wistful light in his big, hon- 
est eyes. Jack, who was trying desperately to curb his 
curiosity and keep from asking questions, shifted uneasily 
in his seat, while Bill was gazing absently out of the 
window with a strange expression in his fine dark eyes. 
Jim had noticed this when he glanced around at his com- 
panions, and a new thought struck him. He turned once 
more and gazed at Bill, who seemed to wait for a chance 
to say something and yet half afraid to say it, whatever 
it was. 

He finally seemed to feel that every eye in the room 
was looking him through and through and penetrating 
the secret he had been loth to divulge, and turning his 
head he faced them with a half guilty expression. But 
they all instinctively felt that he was going to throw some 
new light on the subject and remained silent. 

Bill did not hesitate when he saw their apprehension. 

“Boys,” he said, glancing around the circle with a 
half sheepish expression, “did you ever hear that the 


TOM Alton’s story. 


399 


leader of the Fox Valley gang was possessed of a strange 
hypnotic power over those that come in contact with 
him.?” 

A chorus of “Nos” was the reply, and Bill continued 
hurriedly : 

“Well, he has for a fact, and you will find it so too 
if you ever run across him and he knows you intend him 
harm. But you have already seen him if you only 
knew it.” 

“xAlready seen him,” reiterated the others in a spas- 
modic chorus. Then Jim abruptly interrupted any ques- 
tions the rest of them might have asked by this 
interrogation : 

“Say, Bill, since you have broken this spell then tell 
us if my suspicion was true, — was not the tall stranger 
we saw at the depot yesterday the chief of the Fox 
Valley bandits .?” 

“Yes, you are right there, Jim,” assented Bill ex- 
citedly. “That was the man that goes by the name of 
Tom Alton and leads the outlaws of the valley. I con- 
fess that it has been a struggle with me to break the 
ominous spell, for he knows that I have betrayed them. 
But I don’t think any of the honest people of the coun- 
try are inclined to look down on myself and Martin for 
the part we have played, for we did no more than is 
being done every day by detectives. But I thought it 
would aid this man in clearing his name from the stigma. 
His brother-in-law, Pete Calvin, is not connected with 


400 


TOM Alton’s story. 


the gang and is, I believe, an honest man, but he shields 
him all the same, though from what motives I can’t 
imagine.” 

Alton seemed greatly pleased at Bill’s information, 
and with a gesture of the hand commanding silence, he 
resumed his narrative. 

“That is the very man that could do more than any 
one else for me if he chose to, but I fear he will never 
choose as long as the desperado is alive,” he enunciated, 
as a start to the resumption of his story. “I know 
him personally, and believe him honest too. I saved 
him from going to jail several years ago when he was 
under arrest for burning a settler’s house over there on 
Swan Creek by going his bail, and I fully believe that 
Calvin is anxious to do me a good turn, but Fm afraid he 
never will as long as the leader is at large. That is why 
I am anxious to effect his capture, for, you know it will 
be a hard matter to overcome a long standing prejudice. 
But to resume my narrative. I lost no time in coming 
to Nick’s when I got his letter. Tv he fellow was so over- 
joyed at seeing me alive again that he nearly wrung my 
arm off in a transport of gleeful welcome, and then, when 
we had talked awhile, and he had scolded me for absent- 
ing myself so long without writing home, he suggested 
that I assume another name until he could succeed in 
turning the tide of public opinion. I agreed to do so, 
and felt quite safe in assuming the name of Andy Thomas, 
for not many even of my own clansmen know my full 


TOM Alton’s story. 


401 


name. The organization of the stranglers was already 
operating, although they fancied themselves greatly out- 
numbered. From the time that part of the country was 
first settled it transpired that there was already a certain 
class of settlers who were not then, nor perhaps ever will 
be, any force toward civilizing the country. These were 
somewhat scattered settlements, ensconced in the very 
wildest solitudes of the mountains, where human beasts 
of prey abode ; outcasts from all parts of the country, 
conglomerating there in the wild mountain solitudes 
where they lived like Indians, by the chase and the oc- 
casional ensnaring and murdering of some unlucky trav- 
eler, which they proceeded to divest of his cash, if he had 
any, and then buried him in some isolated spot like that 
you were operating in last night. They looked upon the 
coming of the new class of settlers as the coming of a 
new source of livelihood for them, and ever since that 
they have kept the country over there in an uproar. 
They were vicious to a degree that would have justified 
the honest settlers in exterminating them, and as the war 
took away nearly all of the new settlers for one or the 
other of the two armies, these mountain vandals had an 
era of undisputed sway while the war was in progress. 
They stole, they robbed, and they murdered in cold blood 
and desolated many homes, and as a consequence, when 
the war ended, the better class of settlers reinforced 
shortly after the close of the struggle, as quite a number 
of the new settlers had a bitter score to settle with Mike 


402 


TOM Alton’s story. 


Rains, Ben Harper, and their followers. So about 
eighteen months ago the Fox Valley stranglers became 
known, and Nick Alton was captain, while Andy Thomas 
was first lieutenant, and Jay Talbott second lieutenant. 
None but a select few knew who Andy Thomas and Jay 
Talbott were, or knew any of their history, as they were 
supposed to be new settlers whose actual place of resi- 
dence no one cared much about. I have often thought 
what a pity it was the pretty and innocent daughter of 
Harper could not succeed in her efforts toward his recla- 
mation, which she bent all of her energies to accomplish 
without success. These half illiterate children of nature 
could have been redeemed from their criminal state and 
taught to live honest and useful lives if they had not been 
continually dragged into a succession of crimes by edu- 
cated criminals, who made a catspaw out of them for 
their own personal advancement. There is that Bright- 
wood outfit for instance, as a sample. They are as 
cunning a set of serpents as . ever ruined an Eden. I 
think from what I can learn that Bart Brightwood had 
nearly succeeded in installing himself as commander in 
chief when the present sachem of the tribe made his 
appearance and wrested it away from him, perhaps by 
his hypnotic power. But despairing of ever reforming 
them, the stranglers determined to rid their community 
of the worst of them, taking care to spot those who were 
susceptible of reformation. So far everything has worked 
smoothly, as we have come out victorious in every en- 


TOM Alton’s story. 


403 


counter, and many necks have cracked, while many 
others have went out through the lead passage. ” 

Tom paused for breath and reflection, glanced at the 
clock and then out of the window at the now sun-swathed 
landscape while his audience looked impatiently at his 
delay in getting to the main point of interest. They felt 
confident that when he was through there would be little 
left to tell, but wondered what particular item he was 
ignorant of. 

Presently Tom turned and looked at his audience with 
a broad smile, and then they noticed for the first time 
the tan of the tropics on his visage, which was evidence 
enough that he had been to South America. Little by 
little he was convincing his new allies of his entire inno- 
cence of any crime, but it would doubtless have been 
uphill work for him if he had not had Bill Thornton’s 
testimony. 

“Now you will want to know next how the fortunes 
of Andy Thomas and Jay Talbott came to be linked,” he 
resumed, taking up a small dictionary and fumbling with 
it on the stand as he talked. “We had a pretty lively 
time over there for a while, and then I concluded to pay 
a visit to my old home here, and under cover of a dark 
night I slipped in here and lay around, watching for Hart 
to leave so I could investigate matters a little. I was 
rewarded at last by seeing him ride away, I knew not 
where and cared less, but felt sure that he would be gone 
for some time, as it was his custom to make long visits 


404 


TOM ALTON S STORY. 


in the old days when we were here together. I always 
had felt rather lonely, not having any brothers of my 
own, and Hart and I got along very well together, and I 
seemed to have a sort of brotherly affection for him for 
all I knew his selfish nature. Selfishness is not such a 
great crime, but I had no idea what a cold blooded 
schemer he was till I had succeeded in warming myself 
into the good graces of the old couple here and under the 
name of Captain Thomas, land buyer, had one night 
lodged here, and knowing where the duplicate keys of 
the place were I went through the whole house and found 
among Hart’s papers locked up in the old iron chest a 
written confession. This written confession was sealed 
in a large envelope and directed to Clayton Palliser. ” 

Alton paused again to note the effect of this announce- 
ment. He came near laughing outright when he saw the 
five young adventurers sitting as motionless as so many 
stuffed owls staring in wide-eyed amazement. But they 
spoke no word in response, and Alton resumed : 

“All of you had your own private opinions, I sup- 
pose, in regard to the fate that had overtaken Jason 
Palliser. Now, then, how many of you believed that he 
was yet alive 

“I did, for one,” answered Jim promptly, “but the 
other boys here seemed set in the belief that he was 
dead and that we were exhuming his remains last night. 
As for me, I was continually haunted by a confession 
made by Hart just after the termination of his trial, 


TOM Alton’s story. 


405 


while he was under the influence of liquor, in which he 
boasted that he was not guilty of the murder of the 
Benton girl but was guilty of another crime that he had 
the power of undoing. This led me to believe that in- 
stead of murdering Palliser he had imprisoned him.” 

“Ah ha,” said Alton, evincing great surprise at this 
information. The word was ^long drawn and slowly 
emitted, which was evidence that his surprise was not 
assumed, then he continued. “Then you had better 
evidence than the other boys, and that was the reason 
why you had no faith in the other theory. Well, you 
would make a fine detective. Carver. You see I know 
the names of all of you, for I and Palliser have been 
keeping watch on Clayton and his movements all the 
time. But you will want to know what I did after I 
found this written confession, which I broke open and 
read, and as I had heard of the mysterious disappear- 
ance of Palliser I was in a transport of joy to find that I 
who was struggling to lift my name out of the mire where 
it had been dragged by this unscrupulous adventurer, 
had suddenly been the fortunate finder of the keynote to 
the mystery, with power to restore the long lost man to 
his bereaved relatives. This I believed would be a step- 
ping stone toward reinstating myself in the favor of the 
people, for you know it takes pretty strong argument to 
overcome long-standing prejudice, and my story would 
not be swallowed by everybody that came along. It is 
probable there will be people who will believe it was me 


4o6 


TOM Alton’s story. 


that headed the freebooters till their dying day. Now, 
when I had sat and pondered a while I got up and went 
straight to the stone cabin over there and without hesi- 
tating I unlocked and threw open the door. But there 
was no greeting of welcome awaiting me when I entered 
and cast my eyes around the room. Jason Palliser lay 
sleeping as peacefully as a child, looking just like you 
saw him that night, more like a ghost than a human 
being. I left the door standing open and sat down in 
the old chair, thinking I would let him waken and see 
the outside world through the open door when he did so. 
For hours I sat thus, and just as the light of dawn was 
beginning to break he awoke, and as his face was turned 
toward the open door the light was plainly visible to him. 
He started up and looked around, finally resting his eyes 
on me. I shall never forget that look as long as I live. 
It was only a polite stare of inquiry, but I confess that 
my emotion was so intense I could not speak, and for a 
brief spell we sat as motionless as a couple of Pagan gods 
staring into each other’s faces.” 

As if to let the minds of his audience digest the in- 
formation, Tom paused again and fumbled with the book 
while the boys were submerged in a maze of joyful won- 
der. To Jack this was ahead of anything recorded in 
his story books, but Clayton was beginning to feel greater 
respect for the opinions of his friend, while Jim was 
slowly forgetting the unpleasant features of the affair of 
the night in a maze of mingled self adulation and joyful 


. TOM Alton’s story. 


407 


wonder, for it was just as he had expected, only his own 
eyes had not beheld the woeful figure his imagination had 
pictured. His mind revolving on the subject, he finally 
fell to musing over the sad situation of the prisoner, and 
the thoughts of his companions were much the same as 
his own. What days and nights of anguish and solitude 
had he endured. Had he been like a caged bird, beating 
its wings off against the bars of its cage ? What depths 
of deep despair, bitter regret, and desolate emptiness of 
soul had he undergone during the long years of solitary 
confinement, while the hard hearted wretch who impris- 
oned him was squandering his money in riotous living. 
Had he prayed to God for release when he remembered 
how the angels of heaven had thrown open the prison 
doors of Paul and Silas and loosened their shackles } But 
what a surprise awaited him when he found that the 
angel that opened his prison door was the redoubtable 
Tom Alton whose name was a terror to the denizens of 
the surrounding region. 

Alton glanced at the clock again. “Half past eight,” 
he said, “and I must hurry or I won’t get through. 
When I have related what took place from the time I 
came home — or to Nick’s, I mean, which was to be my 
home for a time— I will tell you a little of what happened 
to me while I was away. Beginning where I left off — ■ 
Palliser at last broke the silence, and his voice sounded 
as ghostly as he looked. ‘Have you come to release 
me .^’ he asked, and his voice sounded hoarse and pitiful. 


4o8 


TOM Alton’s story. 


causing another quaver of emotion to tug at my heart. ( 
I drew my chair close to him and looked him squarely in 
the face for a second, then replied thus: ‘Yes, I have 
come to release you, hawe no fears on that score.’ He ; 
seemed very weak and could hardly sit up at first, but ■ 
my enunciation seemed to put new life into him at once. 
‘Who are you.?’ he asked, looking at me with an expres- 
sion of uncertain recognition. I replied : ‘ I think you - 

have a pretty good idea who I am, but that does not \ 
make so much difference as what I am just at present. ^ 
Guess once what my name is before I tell you.’ ‘Ah,’ j 
he replied without hesitation, ‘ I know you by the picture ‘j 
of you that I have seen down there at the house. This | 
place used to be yours once, did it not.?’ ‘Yes, you are 
right in both suppositions,’ I replied, ‘but you must not 
form any hasty conclusions about me, my friend. I see 
that your jailer has kept you supplied with the news, and ] 
you are no doubt as well acquainted with circumstances 
as I am. Better so, if anything.’ ‘Why, what do you 
mean by that .?’ he answered. ‘ I mean that you have 1 
been reading of the operations of the desperate free- | 
hooter, Tom Alton, for several years now, while I have ' 
but lately got acquainted with him and his doings.’ He \ 
stared hard. ‘ Then you are not Tom Alton .?’ he ven- j 
tured. I replied that that was the name I bore. ‘Then 
you are not the one that heads this lawless organization .?’ 
he interrogated. ‘No; that is another man altogether,’ : 
I answered, and then I showed him Nick’s letter. He 


TOM Alton’s story. 


409 


seemed convinced of the plausibility of my assertion, and 
I suddenly remembered that I had better be getting back 
to the house or I might be discovered. Daylight was 
fast approaching. ‘Stay here till to-night,’ I said, rising 
from my seat. ‘I am a stranger in my own house, and 
must be getting back or I may be discovered. To-night 
I will pay you another visit while the inmates are asleep, 
and then we will relate our experiences.’ 

Next night I went earlier, and we talked nearly all 
night. We both realized that our fortunes were linked 
for a time at least, and we talked over the war and our 
adventures therein and I related to him some of the in- 
cidents of my travels. We were both deprived of our 
just rights by the same man, and it was necessary that 
we worked together in recovering what rightly belonged 
to us. He said that he had sworn never to return to his 
family till he had satisfied himself that his money could 
never be recovered or he had recovered it, and seemed 
to entertain great hopes of recovering it when he learned 
that the old bachelor uncle of Hart’s had died and left 
all to Hart in his will. I told him that it was a forgone 
conclusion now as we had the whip hand of him, and if 
he did not restore us our belongings we could expose this 
crime of his and bring him to justice. Then I unfolded 
to him the operations of the stranglers, and showed him 
the cards we had engraved with the letters O. H., and 
explained to him their meaning. This was a precaution 
we had adopted to keep from molesting any of the 


410 


TOM Alton’s story. 


settlers from surrounding regions, who might be traveling 
about that part of the country on the same erran'd as we 
were, and when we found out any other members of the 
vigilantes spying around there we gave them one of these 
cards as a passport in case they should fall into the hands 
of our men. Thus, when we discovered any outside 
regulators in there we described them as members of the 
O. H., which being interpreted meant “outside help,” a 
thing that had been longed for a good while. Finally 
the gang overstepped the bounds and went a little too 
far in their last foray, and the first thing we knew the 
O. H.’s began to pour in with a business like movement, 
and the number of encounters became more frequent and 
fiercer than ever. At last we caught and strung Milt 
Harper, and then I and Palliser went to Springfield in 
search of Hart. We found him and sprung the rattle on 
him and he wilted immediately. He is going to sell his 
inheritance on the twenty-fifth and restore to Palliser the 
money he took from him. 

“Now [ will go back a little and relate some of the 
incidents of my travels after I started out at the close of 
the war. First, I visited New Orleans, and while I was 
there I met and got acquainted with a young planter who 
lived up the river about twenty miles, and when we were 
through seeing the sights he pressed me to go home with 
him, which I did without demurring. I stayed with him 
about two months, and then he fell sick with a fever, 
during which I staid with him and directed his affairs, 


TOM Alton’s story. 


411 

His sickness finally resulted in his death, and then I 
stayed a week for recuperation and left more travel hun- 
gry than ever. This all consumed the first year after the 
close of the war, and I spent another year in rambling 
in Old Mexico viewing the grand scenery and tropical 
luxuriancy of the land of the Montezuma’s. From there 
I took passage for Brazil, and landed in Rio Janeiro one 
evening feeling as though I was going down into the 
infernal regions it was so hot to me, who was unused to 
the tropical climate. The sun looked like a big, red ball 
of fire, disbursing its hot, scorching rays over the land 
and the ocean, and the seething, boiling water and roar- 
ing atmosphere had a terrible effect on my senses as we 
landed, but the nights are cool in those Southern climes, 
and I regained my composure after I had found lodgings, 
and by morning I felt refreshed and ready for any new 
emergency that offered exciting adventure. I spent the 
day in seeing the sights of this tropical city of our sister 
of the South, which, according to the observations I 
made, will eventually become a republic. At least the 
populace is republican, and it is no telling what time a 
political earthquake so common in South America will 
change the form of government from monarchical to one 
similar to our own. Next day I joined a band of soldiers 
who were going out to the diamond mines, and when we 
arrived at the mines there was much talk of a band of 
mountain brigands who contemplated an attack upon us 
when we made the return trip. This turned out to be no 


412 


TOM Alton’s story. 


false report, for, when we reached a certain wild pass in 
the mountains we were startled by the sudden report of 
firearms, and the battle was on. These soldiers are not 
as well trained in guerilla warfare as we Americans are, 
and I confess I was vexed not a little at their mode of 
repelling the attack. The pack mules loaded with the 
diamonds and supplies were all driven into a huddle and 
the way cleared for action, but what kind of action do 
you suppose they could oppose their opponents with. 
The prize was a rich one and well worth fighting for, 
but when an army of brigands is sheltered behind an 
impossible barrier of rocks and no way to dislodge them 
it is folly to stand and be shot down like sheep. The 
soldiers, however, seemed content in shooting at an oc- 
casional head that appeared above the crest of the 
rugged wall, and this finally played out. It was evident 
that the brigands had some undescernable loophole 
through which they could fire without sticking their heads 
over the crest of the barricade. I was suddenly envel- 
oped in a maze of patriotic pride of onr American 
capacity for meeting cases of this kind, and I gave a 
hurried glance around to see if there was anything I could 
do to extricate our force from their difficult and danger- 
ous position. Spying a large boulder a little to our right 
I hastily ran to it, and taking out my glass I sheltered 
myself behind the rock and took a hasty observation. I 
was rewarded by the sight of another rocky barrier of 
big, rough boulders further up, and now I recollected that 


TOM Alton’s story. 


413 


the road had been made over this rugged peak by remov- 
ing the boulders out of the way. They had been tum- 
bled off down the steep ascent by great labor, leaving a 
passage about ten yards wide, and there were two trails 
leading through it. We had taken the lower one, and I 
saw that the brigands had formed the barricade with 
their own hands, thus enabling them to fire through the 
crevices. I ran back to the command and told the com- 
mander what I had discovered. This proved our salva- 
tion and saved us from a disastrous route. We sought 
for the weak spot in the barricade and found that there 
was one place where the rocks were small enough to be 
removed. It was then pretty tough work, but we finally 
got enough of them out to enable us to get behind the 
wall. But the robbers, when they realized that we were 
going to get to them, and that our great preponderance 
in numbers would soon overwhelm them, scampered away 
and were soon lost to view ’mid the crags.” 

Tom paused again and glanced at the clock to see 
whether he would have time to relate all he wanted, but 
he had noticed that the young men’s interest in his ad- 
ventures was not as great as he expected, which was 
evidence that they were already convinced of his sincer- 
ity and honesty of purpose. But they remained silent 
and attentive, and he saw from their expression of coun- 
tenance that they would rather hear more of his adven- 
tures in the home region and less of his adventures while 
abroad. 


414 


TOM Alton’s story. 


“I believe it is not necessary to dwell on my adven- 
tures while abroad,” he remarked, “because I believe 
you are now thoroughly convinced that I am just what I 
represent myself to be. But it is a romantic event, is it 
not ? While I was playing Brazilian soldier and hugely 
enjoying myself in that tropical climate, another man 
who either bore the same name or had accidentally 
assumed it was building up a hard reputation for me — 
aided by circumstances which perhaps he himself was 
ignorant of. Now that is one reason why I am anxious 
to get hold of Calvin to see if he won’t inform me a 
little about this mysterious man who is the head sachem 
of the bandit hordes who infest these mountains. All 
my efforts to effect a meeting with him have proved 
futile, as it seems like 'he is never with his followers 
except when leading them on a raid. Yet I have a pre- 
monition that this mystery as well as all the others will 
yet come to light. I have the key to some of them my- 
self, but there are others yet that ought to be unraveled 
in order to make things clear to the populace. It is my 
belief that Calvin holds the key to those I do not.” 

Tom again paused, and the others thought they would 
now question him a little on certain points they were 
particularly interested in. 

Jim was first to speak. 

“And what are the particular points of this tangled 
web of mysteries that you are yet ignorant of he inter- 
rogated, thinking that he was speaking for all. Different 


TOM Alton’s story. 


415 


questions had been framed by the others, but Jim’s sud- 
den interrogation reminded them that they had agreed to 
let him do the thinking, and it suddenly struck them 
they had best let him alone. So they remained silent 
and listened to Alton’s reply. 

“ The particular points I have not yet ascertained are 
these : First, who is this man that goes by the name of 
Tom Alton, and where did he come from. Second, 
what motive could Milt Harper have in giving the 
description he did, which you will observe is my own, 
and which makes it more difficult for me to prove my 
innocence than it would otherwise have been. Third, 
the people being under the impression that Boyd Emer- 
son was a lunatic, incarcerated over there was only a 
blind, invented by Hart to ward off intruders who might 
have discovered the identity of the inmate and made 
him trouble. It puzzles me to think what actually has 
become of Boyd, as it was not he Hart had imprisoned. 
Thus, the real name and history of the noted outlaw, 
the object of Milt Harper in giving my description, the 
fate of Boyd Emerson are, so I believe, in the keeping 
of Pete Calvin.” 

A new thought struck Jim. Perhaps the others 
wanted to know when Jason Palliser would return to his 
family. He asked the question, and saw by the expres- 
sion of his companions’ faces he had struck the right 
cord. 

Alton answered promptly. “Before long, I think. 


/ 


41 6 TOM Alton’s story. 


At least not until the sale takes place and he has recov- 
ered the money. I’d advise you not to try and seek 
him, as it might agitate him and cause him to lose the 
firmness of determination he has now and give his 
opponent an advantage. Hart, when he discovered that 
he was de trop and helplessly exposed, begged me to 
assume the disguise you saw to-night — looking straight 
at Jim — and play the confined lunatic for a while till he 
could dispose of his effects and settle his affairs and get 
away. But I think he will be about as well off here as 
anywhere, for wherever he goes he will get into mischief, 
and it is ten chances to one he won’t get off as easy 
anywhere else, and may have to pay the penalty with 
his life.” 

“But do you think it impossible to effect the capture 
of the chief.?” asked Jim. 

“It is my honest opinion that it will be a miracle if 
he is,” replied Tom. “But we will try our best to do 
so, and whoever is the lucky man he will get the reward 
for him, dead or alive. Suppose he should turn out to 
be that noted sheriff slayer who, it is superstitiously sup- 
posed, has killed so many men that the blood drips from 
his revolver barrel every time it fires. If it is he it will 
be a dangerous task to undertake I’m thinking, but then 
again if Joe Martin knew this to be the case I wonder 
how he plucked up courage enough to expose him. Per- 
haps the fellow does not care a straw for the feeling that 
his gruesome record is his best safeguard. Whatever 


TOM Alton’s story. 


417 


caused Milt to give that description I feel certain the 
chief himself 'was not responsible for it. ” 

^‘Then who do you think was i*” queried Jim. 

“I have no idea myself, but feel certain Cajvin can 
enlighten us on the point too, if he could be persuaded 
to. But we must effect his capture, that is I mean the 
chief’s capture, if it is possible. When we have per- 
formed our duty to the dead I will unfold to you my plan 
for accomplishing it.” 


CHAPTER XVIII. 


THE WRITTEN CONFESSION. 

Alton took up his pipe when he had finished speak- 
ing and, taking out his match case, took therefrom a 
match, and when he had replaced the match case in his 
pocket he said : 

“ Now, then, the next thing in order will be the read- 
ing of Hart’s written confession, which also throws light 
on the murder of Fannie Benton as well as the disap- 
pearance of Jason Palliser. Bad as Hart was, he was 
not bad enough for manslaughter, and was no murderer 
after all, or was wise enough to know that he could not 
enjoy his ill-gotten gains with his conscience smeared 
with murder, and cunningly sought to avoid it.” 

“Perhaps that was why he persistently failed to ap- 
pear at the appointed meetings of the regulators,” sug- 
gested Bill. 

“ Undoubtedly that was his chief reason, but it is my 
opinion he was on the point of winning the hand of a 
young lady up at Springfield and did not want to run any 
risks of getting his hide perforated with the bullets of 
Tom Alton and his unerring marksmen.” 

“And who was the young lady.?” inquired Clayton, a 
spasm of alarm sweeping over him. If there was a girl 
(418) 



He grabbed her by the throat and choked her to death. 



I i 



THE WRITTEN CONFESSION. 


421 


he thought in Springfield liable to penetrate the heart of 
a selfish, scheming villain like Hart it was Hlsie Britman, 
and knowing her romantic nature he alsQ believed she 
would be an easy prey for a crafty schemer like Hart, 
with his dark brigand-like beauty and power of assump- 
tion. No man ever yet found a woman he wholly 
trusted, and Clayton, if he had actually known that Hart 
was courting Miss Britman, would have had serious 
doubts of his power over her, and believed that it was 
a case of “out of sight out of mind” with the girl in 
regard to himself. 

“She is, I believe, a niece of your country store- 
keeper over there, ” replied Alton with a sly wink at Jack, 
who was regarding him with a tinge of suspicion. 

But Alton’s words failed to produce any visible effects 
upon Clayton, for he was a man whose nature was so 
evenly divided that he was abundantly able to throw off 
an unreciprocated affection. He was used to the homage 
of the fair sex and had unconsciously broken many hearts 
by neglect because he was not mean enough to flatter 
them with the belief that he cared for them when he did 
not. Perhaps any one but he would have kept up a 
regular correspondence with the city belle, he some- 
times owned to himself he loved passionately and then 
his heart would fill with bitterness at the cruel misfortune 
which prevented him from entering her own world and 
courting her as an equal. These clandestine chats he 
had stolen with her while she was visiting her uncle’s 


422 


THE WRITTEN CONFESSION. 


family were distasteful to him, and yet he knew they were 
the very foundation upon which he rested his hopes, 
which, to speak the truth, were very vague and uncertain 
to say the least. If he were only a poor young farmer 
with a story, and she a city sybarite and heiress to a large 
fortune, what practical use could she be to him or he to 
her when she was in no way fitted for a farmer’s wife, 
and he was hardly capable of managing a city business, 
owing to the fact that he had never been trained to it, 
and he disliked city life and could hardly thrive in a city 
even as a gentleman of leisure. Then he knew others 
would not look upon him in the same light as the girl 
did, and would fancy she was throwing herself away to 
marry a poor, insignificant mountaineer, be he ever so 
handsome and clever. But the girl did not allow any- 
thing of this kind to mar her dream of love, for she did 
not have the practical nature that her lover had, who 
was not so enveloped in the maze that he could not see 
the hard, cruel points of reality. He had neglected her 
just as if she was only a pleasant companion of his dull 
hours and had done so with a vague idea of some speedy 
solution of the mystery he had been trying to unravel. 
A second and perhaps a not less important cause of his 
neglect was a desire to test her and see how deep an 
affection she was capable of. He admitted his heart was 
a lake of fire when in her presence, but he was one of 
those who wanted the rose without the irritation of the 
prick of the thorns, and now, since he realized himself 


THE WRITTEN CONFESSION. 


423 


master of the perplexing mystery, with his own inherit- 
ance added to the little property he had eked together by 
his own efforts, and a fair prospect of recovering the lost 
money, with perhaps as much more as damage — all 
caused Clayton to feel that as far as financial matters were 
concerned Elsie Britman’s friends and rich relatives could 
have no reason for complaint against him as a suitor for 
the girl’s hand in marriage. 

‘ ‘ Don’t you believe Hart was a coward ?” asked Clay- 
ton, suddenly assuming an austere expression. 

Alton laughed a short mirthful laugh. 

“I never saw one of his class who wasn’t,” he re- 
plied. “It is only the bold brigands like Tom Alton 
and his followers who have the grit to back their mis- 
deeds and don’t care who knows it. But let us see now 
what he tells you in his written confession.” 

As he spoke Tom produced a large envelope from his 
inside coat pocket and drew out the written sheets of 
paper containing Hart Emerson’s written confession. 

“You can all read it if you desire to,” he said, “but 
as it was addressed to Clayton he has the right to read 
it first.” 

But Clayton said that as the astonishment had all 
worn away, and he knew the particulars of the case, he 
would, if they desired, read it to them so as to save time. 
They acquiesced, and he took the sheets and turned so 
as to have the light of the window to read by. 


424 


THE WRITTEN CONFESSION. 


“date is a scientific reader,” explained Jack, with an 
admiring glance at his friend. 

“Well, he’ll now have a chance to prove his capac- 
ity,” replied Tom as he lit his pipe. 

While he smoked dayton read the document, which 
was as follows : 

“Clayton Palliser : — It is very probable that when 
your eyes rest upon these lines I — Hart Emerson — will 
be numbered with the silent dead. I have been a selfish, 
scheming villain, and may meet with sudden death, and 
I will instruct these lines to be sent to you if I should, so 
you will koow what I have been guilty of. Even in your 
distress at the long, unexplained absence of your parent 
I would gladly change places with you now were it not 
for the principal object that has been heretofore a bar to 
you in finding a clue or penetrating the mystery, for if it 
were not that I thought you were possessed of the same 
indomitable spirit that he was, and I could neither bribe 
nor beg you to refrain from prosecuting me — I would if 
it transpired that I could have the matter kept secret till 
I could win the hand of a certain young lady, tell you 
all verbally. 

But I recall a certain September night a few years 
back when I was hard pushed for money and the gallows 
was yawning for me, and I lay awake studying a plan for 
raising money to spend for lawyer fees on the approach 
of my trial for the murder of my sweetheart, Fannie 
Benton. We had then in the house as a prospective 


THE WRITTEN CONFESSION. 


425 


purchaser of the place, Jason Palliser, whom I knew had 
cash enough to buy it, But I desired to keep the place, 
and yet I felt I must have money and plenty of it to save 
myself. As I lay awake that September night the devil 
suggested that I form a plan to get half of the money 
and keep the place too, which I lost no time in doing, 
quieting conscience with the admonition that it was a 
desperate case and required desperate means. But when 
one does one desperate thing it is ten to one he will 
afterward be compelled to do another to cover up that 
one, and I found this to be the case. To make this 
article as brief as possible, I enticed Jason Palliser into 
the little stone cabin, back of the spur here, and drugged 
some whisky which I gave him, and then when he sank 
into insensibility I robbed him, after which I shut him up 
as a prisoner. 

I came clear by an unexpected flaw in the evidence 
and did not require the money after all, — a token it would 
have occurred to others, perhaps, that it were better to 
travel in the power of heaven for protection than blind 
instinct. But not so with myself. I got on a big spree 
to celebrate the occasion of my acquittal, and felt jubi- 
lant and garrilous while others would have been silent 
and prayerful. But now that I had the money why not 
keep and enjoy it. This I decided to do at first, but 
when I had spent about half of it I relented and tried to 
effect a compromise with him, and offered to let him out 
if he would take a heavy oath not to prosecute me, and 


426 


THE WRITTEN CONFESSION. 


I also offered to give him back the balance of the money. 
He refused to accede to these terms, and demanded the 
full amount or nothing. It would seem like a man would 
be glad to compromise on any terms to get out of a 
gloomy little dungeon like that, and his refusal had the 
effect of hardening me against him. I told him I would 
give him a month to study the matter and left him. 

When the month was up I found on inquiry that he 
was still unsubdued, and I flew into a rage and told him 
he could stay there till he rotted for all I cared, and left 
him again. There he stayed till you came into the 
region and began searching for a clue — and there he is 
yet. If these lines reach you, know by them that he is 
yet alive and release him, for it is probable that neither 
you nor he can harm me after you read these lines. 

Now, as to the murder of the Benton girl, I will also 
confide that to you, thus making you a confident of all 
my secrets. It was not I that did that, but still I was 
an eye witness to it, saw the whole performance from 
beginning to end. and yet stood by in cold blooded, silent 
inaction. What caused me to do that, you ask. I surely 
had an object in wanting the girl out of the way. It was 
this : I was engaged to her, and had found I loved an- 
other — a girl I have schemed and planned unmercifully 
ever since to win the affections of. 

She was then but a young girl, just about the age to 
begin to want a beau. I believe she lacked four months 
yet of being fifteen. She is now nearly twenty, and I 


THE WRITTEN CONFESSION. 


427 


have not married her yet. But I was her first beau, and 
I have always seemed to entertain the idea that it would 
be best to let her grow to maturity before asking her to 
marry me, and have had little cause for being jealous. I 
don’t think she has any other lover, except Charley Jen- 
kins, a young fop of a doctor, who is so dreadfully un- 
romantic that he does not stand the ghost of a show. 

But, as I was saying, I wanted the Benton girl out of 
the way, and one day I was returning from Springfield 
and took a short cut that led over the spur where the 
girl’s body was found. When I got to the spur I saw 
walking ahead of me a man and a woman, and the 
shuffling of the leaves under their feet perhaps prevented 
them from hearing my approach behind them. But I 
knew they were excited and quarreling about something, 
and heard the girl, whom I knew to be the Benton girl 
by her voice, exclaim angrily : ‘ I want to know how 
many more times you are going to ask me to marry you. 
Bob Willis.’ ‘What do you want to know that for.?’ 
asked Bob, for it was he. ‘ Because you can ask them 
all now, and I can say no to all of them,’ she screamed, 
her voice ringing with passionate detestation. ‘But you 
needn’t bank on your engagement to Hart Emerson,’ re- 
plied Bob coolly, ‘for there is a young lady up at the city 
that has cut you out smack and smooth. Hart may even 
now be hatching some plan for ridding himself of you.’ 
Then the girl flew into a rage and went for him soundly, 
called him a black scheming liar, and all sorts of hard- 


428 


THE WRITTEN CONFESSION. 


names. Bob was not the man to take any abuse, even 
from a woman he was in love with, and the result was 
that he grabbed her by the throat and choked her to 
death while I sat on my horse and witnessed it all. 

I have often wondered whether the girl would not 
have thought about as much of Bob as she did of me if 
she knew that I, her betrothed husband, witnessed her 
murder' and made no effort to prevent it. But to resume. 
Bob presently came -to his senses, and looked hastily 
around to see if there had been any witnesses to his act. 
When he saw me — for I had now ridden up — sitting on 
my horse with a look of sardonic satisfaction on my face 
— so he told me — he nearly fell down in a fit. 

‘Well Bob, you’ve done it now,’ I exclaimed. 

‘And so have you,’ he answered reproachfully, coming' 
up to me. 

‘Why, what have I done’ I asked, assuming an in- 
nocent mien. 

‘You could have prevented it if you wanted to,’ he 
replied as he caught at my horses’ mane to steady him- 
self. 

Well, I tried to make him believe I had come too 
late to interfere, but I think he knew me about as well 
as I did myself, and he was steadfast in his belief that I 
witn-essed it all. When I found I could not make him 
believe my assertion I confessed to him that I had been 
a witness to it all, and I knew she would never break her 
engagement with me till she was dead. Then we agreed 


THE WRITTEN CONFESSION. 


429 


to keep the matter a secret if possible, and I admon- 
ished him to leave the country, and if anybody had to 
stand trial for it I would. I did not believe they could 
produce evidence enough to bind me over to court, even 
then, but I was mistaken. Things looked pretty dark 
for me about the time Jason Palliser arrived on the scene, 
and I had spent money pretty freely to show out among 
the Springfield elite, I was in bad financial shape at the 
time, and did not know what time my step brother might 
turn up alive and want his property. You know the rest 
as I have stated it. Try and believe it the truth, and 
remember me as a misguided man but never as an 
enemy. Hart Kmerson.” 


CHAPTER XIX. 


NEWS FROM FOX VALLEY. 

“What a heartless man,” exclaimed Bill when Clay- 
ton signified that he was through by pronouncing the 
name signed to the article. “How could he stand and 
idly witness the killing of that girl.” 

“It looks like a man who could do that could commit 
murder,” asserted Charlie. 

“Hart reminds me of an octopus,” mirthfully ex- 
claimed Tom Alton as he laid down his pipe, “in being 
cold blooded and crushing everything he could get his 
manacles on, he was a human octopus so to speak.” 

“I see he makes no reference to the fate of Boyd 
Emerson,” remarked Jim. 

“No, that is yet to be revealed,” answered Tom. 
“But, as I asserted before, I believe Pete Calvin can 
enlighten us.” 

A silence of a few minutes’ duration then followed, 
each one busy with his own thoughts, but Clayton, who 
now felt as light hearted as a schoolboy, was not think- 
ing of any of the events we have written so much about, 
for his mind was naturally forming bright fancies of the 
future. Now that nothing stood in his way he would do 
his best to win the young lady for his wife, but he knew 

(430) 



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NEWS FROM FOX VALLEY. 


433 


it would have to be done quickly if Hart Emerson coveted 
the same object, or this scoundrel would be apt to use 
some cunning intrigue against him to beat him if he once 
found he had a dangerous rival. But he had never en- 
tertained any ideas the girl only considered him as a green 
country dupe she was merely playing with, and yet, this 
being the case, she would have been far from being 
flattered, for his attentions, though ’ courteous while en- 
joying the stolen chats, betrayed no sign of love. Never- 
theless, he felt himself at a disadvantage with his rival, 
with the black record, who had been the chief cause of 
his sorrow and long period of doubt and darkness, near 
the girl and striving to win her. He wondered if Hart 
would have the impudence to offer himself as a prospec- 
tive husband to the girl now that his dark misdeeds were 
uncovered, and then decided after a mental soliloquy of 
some length that he would — perhaps try to persuade her 
into an elopement. 

Presently Bill broke the silence again. “Do you 
think that Calvin could tell us what Bob Willis was here 
after last night, and why he tried to kill Jack.^ 

The question was addressed to Tom, and he looked 
up and replied without hesitation ; “I don t know that 
he can, but I was just meditating upon that point a little 
and have drawn my conclusion, which is this : Bob had 
probably discovered the same spot that you others had 
and believed it to be the place where the money was 
buried. It may have been he had set this night in which 


434 


NEWS FROM FOX VALLEY. 


to exhume it, and when he found us already there he 
bided his chance to sneak off with it. When he saw 
Jack was the only bar between him and the coveted ob- 
ject he tried to remove him as he did.” 

Jack now brightened up and replied, not with the 
same old blunt excitement, but calmly, slowly and 
cautiously: “I believe then, if that was the case, he 

had a partner with him, for I remember, now I heard the 
clatter of horses’ feet and the rattle of a buggy just after 
I shot. He must have been a pretty pard to run off and 
leave a feller like that.” 

All of them acquiesced in Jack’s assertion. 

But Jack was not now as fond of adulation as he had 
been formerly. The knowledge that he was a murderer, 
even though he had killed a bloodthirsty villain to save 
his own life, who, perhaps, deserved death, was not at 
all pleasant, and he now realized it was far more pleasant 
to read of such things in the cheerful solitude of his own 
room at home than to experience them in reality. Already 
he had made up his mind to turn from his wild ways to 
seek knowledge and become a cultured, gentlemanly man 
like Clayton, whom he regarded as a model of excellence. 
He never thought of being arrested for what he had done. 
These were times when it required a great deal of nerve 
to arrest a man for defending his own life, or anything 
else for that matter. Jack was being made a subject for 
study by Alton already, and the latter shrewdly guessed 
what was actually the truth : Jack’s wild thirst for ad- 


NEWS FROM FOX Vi^LLEY. 


435 


venture and excitement was thoroughly effaced by the 
night’s awful happenings. 

The noon hour was close at hand, and by the time 
Alton and his new allies had explained and talked over 
everything to their satisfaction the two colored servants 
and Bill Nash came to the house and announced that the 
grave was dug. Benton had been dispatched for the 
coffin and would probably return by two o’clock. Then 
they would proceed to inter the remains of the unlucky 
fortune hunter who had the tables turned on him and 
lost his life, having staked to win the rich prize he so 
coveted. 

It was a quarter past two when Benton made his ap- 
pearance, and when he had been given his dinner they 
drove over to the little stone domicile where, so many 
deep mysteries had been unraveled, where so many lives 
had been blighted, and where the dead fortune hunter 
lay side by side with the same worldly alurement that 
has lured many thousands of others to an untimely end 
and an unhonored grave. Bob Willis, the murderer of 
Fannie Benton, the trusted spy of the cabal of free- 
booters, and betrothed husband of Lottie West, lay dead 
in close proximity to the object he had sinned to gain 
possession of — deserted by his companion, whom he let 
into the secret and agreed to share equally with, and who 
was willing to share the buried hoard with him but not 
the danger. 

We need not dwell on the scene of the interment, as 


436 


NEWS FROM FOX VALLEY. 


it had nothing of uncommon interest except the crowd 
of onlookers was limited at this burial, which took place 
in the old Alton graveyard, the first one since the inter- 
ment of Tom Alton’s mother. When it was over, and 
the grave rounded off in a neat heap and marked like all 
the graves in the strangers’ lot with a flat stone at the 
head and foot, they took a stroll around the family lot 
examining the condition of all the graves there. They 
were all in a sadly neglected condition. Hart Emerson 
had taken no pains to keep the graves of the Alton’s in 
good condition any more than he had their home. 

Tom found his mother’s grave at last, and stood view- 
ing it for some time while wrapt in a maze of tender 
memories. His mind reverted back to happy days past 
and gone, when he had never yet thought of the time 
when he would be left alone, when his dear old mother 
would be called away, and he would be a full-fledged 
man with a sin-hardened heart like every matured per- 
son, wise as a serpent, if not harmless as a dove and 
plenty able to exist without the directions of parent or 
guardian. Look at him now, what a worldly-wise man 
he is. See how, step by step, he is lifting the foul stigma 
from the honored name successfully because he had in- 
herited sound physical and mental ability, which he had 
improved. Yet it seems that nothing on earth can make 
the calous heart of maturity pulsate like the memory of 
their days of happy childhood when their hearts are soft 


NEWS FROM FOX VALLEY. 


437 


and tender and their minds untrammeled by worldly 
cares. 

“I must have them repaired,” said Tom at last. “I 
went away from home without her blessing, with her 
threat of disinheritance hanging over me, but I can’t 
forget that she was my mother, and a good, kind one 
too. But you see what I had reference to now, don’t 
you ? I mean about the rich and high mettled. They 
are always used to have things pretty much as they want 
them, and when they are balked on some cherished am- 
bition their haughty spirit entails affliction upon them 
that people of humbler degree would pass. Not that I 
boast of being better than my neighbors, but you know 
riches are bound to breed pride and haughtiness, and the 
more of the former the more of the latter. Poor peo- 
ple, knowing that their loved ones are all they have, are 
not so self sufficient, and if I had been poor I would 
doubtless have returned home and found peace and for- 
giveness instead of doing what I am now, looking upon 
my mother’s grave and recalling past memories.” 

The sun was just throwing its last beaming rays from 
the crest of the mountains when the party, returning to 
the house and having come down into the bottom from 
the hills, a little way out of the road toward the stables 
saw a horse standing at the rack in front of the house. 
They fell to speculating on whom it belonged to, as they 
walked along, but when they reached the gate next the 


438 


NEWS FROM FOX VALLEY. 


road Jerry met them and explained that Massa Nick was 
at the house and wanted to see Tom. 

“It’s Nick, then,” exclaimed Tom jubilantly. “He 
must have some news or he wouldn’t take the trouble to 
come clear over here, but I wonder whether it is good 
or bad. 

In a moment more they were in the house and Nick 
Alton, standing with his back to the fire, his overcoat 
still on and his big Mexican spurs still strapped to his 
booted feet, betrayed a suppressed excitement to the 
party as they filed into the room. 

“What is it, Nick.?” anxiously inquired Tom without 
any greeting. Nick, realizing that Tom was excited and 
anxious, replied quickly : 

“Oh, hang it, Tom, why can’t you introduce me to 
your friends before you go to firing questions at me.? 
Some of the news are bad, but they’ll keep. Now tell 
me what’s up here.” 

“Well, take off your overcoat and big spurs then, 
you rowdy, ” said Tom with good natured banter. ‘ ‘ Don’t 
you know better than to come into a gentleman’s house 
in that cowboy style. But before you do that let me 
introduce you to, first,” pointing to Clayton, “the faith- 
ful son of that long lost man who is your faithful second 
lieutenant, Clayton Palliser. Then next in order comes 
Mr. Carver, a young gentleman who cast in his fortunes 
with these other young fellows in an exhumation of an 
isolated grave up here on the bench last night, thinking 


NEWS FROM FOX VALLEY. 


439 


they were exhuming the remains of Jason Palliser. Then 
last, but not least of the interesting group, is Mr. Jack 
Dalton, who was the discoverer of the grave which turned 
out to be the grave of the old Alton hoard, which now 
lies over there in the humble pioneer residence of its 
former owner. These two you know, don’t you ? They 
are your neighbors.” 

“Great scott, Tom, what are you giving us now, ’> 
ejaculated Nick Alton, in a maze of incredulous bewilder- 
ment. “Have you turned into a wizard or have the 
Arabian knights proved to be the reality of life 

“Nothing but the truth, Nick,” replied Tom, assum- 
ing a serious tone. “But take off your trappings and 
make yourself comfortable now, and I’ll go and have 
your horse put up. When I return I’ll tell you what 
happened last night.” 

“Yes,” replied Nick absently. His mind was wan- 
dering on the strange events of the past two years, and 
as he was no novel reader, his mind being occupied in 
the overseeing of his ranch and farm in the Fox valley 
country, he was easily upset by contact with sudden, 
strange revelations. 

When Tom returned, Nick insisted that he at once 
proceed with his recitation. But as we are already 
acquainted with all the details it is not necessary to 
repeat it. 


440 


NEWS FROM FOX VALLEY. 


“Now then, it’s your turn to spin us out,” said Tom 
as he finished and went to the mantel in search of his 
favorite pipe. “Don’t this remind you of old times, 
Nick, when we were boys and a great deal lighter hearted 
than now 

“Yes, it doe.s, ” answered Nick, who was endeavoring 
to collect what he had to tell so that he could rival Tom’s 
explicit gentlemanly style of recitation. Tom found his 
pipe and lit it while Nick was cross questioning the 
others, and when he resumed his seat Nick began thus : 

“I don’t know as my revelation is as startling and 
strange as yours, but I have discovered and talked with 
Calvin at last, which is something of importance if not 
startling. You were expecting it, and I have come to 
tell you he is all right. He says you can give yourself 
up if you want to and he will clear you. But we have 
been having war over there lately, war to the knife, and 
the knife to the hilt. Only night before last they got 
even with Joe Martin by surrounding him in his cabin 
and riddling him with bullets so that his own mother 
wouldn’t know him.” 

Tom rose in frantic excitement. 

“They shot hiiji to death then, did they.? The bar- 
barous hellhounds. I’ll raise an army and go in there and 
annihilate them. I won’t leave enough of them to stand 
up and be counted,” roared Tom, prancing around the 
room excitedly. 


NEWS FROM FOX VALLEY. 


44 


Presently he calmed himself and again took his 
seat. 

“Well, what else, Nicki*” he exclaimed with a ques- 
tioning gaze at his tall cousin. “Pardon me for inter- 
rupting you.” 

“We’ve discovered a plot,” resumed Nick with a 
piqued expression, “to take summary vengeance on us, 
aud as we know the time set for the sortie, we must nip 
it in the bud. They have enticed a lot of Indians up 
there, and are going to fill them up with firewater and 
turn them loose on the settlers a certain night not far 
distant. We must raise every man we can, and make a 
clean sweep this time.” 

Then he turned to the boys and continued addressing 
them : 

“You are all members of the vigilantes, I suppose. 
No vigilantes ever had as tough a set to deal with as we 
Missouri regulators, especially here in these mountains. 
How many of your men do you think we can get .?” 

But these particular members of the regulator clan 
were getting tired of this outlaw hunting and did not 
show much inclination to join the expedition. Not that 
they were cowards, but they were young and unspotted 
with much manslaughter, and they were greatly de- 
lighted when Tom said as much, and added that they be 
let alone and let some of those thirsting for vengeance 
have their chance. 


442 


NEWS FROM FOX VALLEY. 


That night when our young friends went to bed Jack 
told the others that he expected they would have a 
lively time, and added as he drew the cover over 
him : 

“Boys, I’m glad I’m not in it now.” 


/ 






Elsie Britman looking out of the window at the departing day. 


CHAPTER XX. 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 

Springfield, the metropolis of the Ozark region, 
perched on the summit thereof, the nucleus of art, com- 
merce, wealth and culture, standing for years ’mid the 
billows of frontier turmoil that rolled and dashed around 
it, as firm as the rock of Gibraltar, — was never more 
busy, nor more gay, nor more crowded than on that day 
when the ominous looking stranger of Republic inquired 
of the young men the whereabouts of Hart Emerson. 
The sun was setting in a flood of crimson light, fringing 
the horizon by contact with a plexiform cloud; the moon, 
the same little gleaming horn that Jim Carver looked up 
at that night to break the gruesome sensation, was visible, 
but its feeble light only added to the gruesome illumina- 
tion that overspread the little mountain city. It was 
train time at the depot and the usual crowd had as- 
sembled, some of them to me^t friends or relatives, some 
through idle curiosity. Hotel keepers were there seek- 
ing customers, gamblers, sportsmen, travelers and vari- 
ous other people too numerous to mefition, all assembled 
there to await the coming of the evening passenger from 
the West. The crowd increased; the jostle and jar also 
increased as the minutes flew by. Presently the whistle 

( 445 ) 


446 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


of the coming train was heard despite the uproar, and 
the crowd lined up along the long platform like soldiers 
forming a line of battle; the train drew up with its usual 
roar and hiss and screech of breaks against the wheels, 
the conductor and breakmen alighted with business like 
promptness, and as the locomotive halted with its load 
of human freight the egress and ingress began. For a 
few minutes all was confusion. Then, like the bursting 
of a summer cloud by a clap of thunder, the crowd be- 
gan to disperse, and in a few minutes no one remained 
excepting one man, a tall, ominous looking man who 
looked as though he had come to town to give the grand 
marshal a drubbing, as such occasions often took place 
by such looking men as he. 

But the savage expression his face at first worn soon 
changed into one wistful, almost sad, and he went into 
the waiting room and sat down in one of the seats, un- 
mindful of all that was passing around him. He leaned 
one elbow on the partition of the seat, and bracing his 
head he leaned over on his elbow and remained for some 
minutes absorbed in a sad reverie, while the noise and 
clatter of the departing hosts outside gradually subsided, 
and he was finally left alone. Ah, was he the only one 
in that mighty, surging throng of a few minutes ago who 
was sad ? Who was he and what was his mission here .? 
Was his mind reverting back to happier days, when he 
would have been met with smiling, glad faces of relatives 
or friends, instead of the curious stares bestowed upon 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


‘447 


him as he elbowed his way through the crowd a few 
minutes ago ? A last beaming ray of the sun emitting 
through a rift in the cloud, stole through the open door 
and danced across his face like some entreating angel 
making a last appeal to redeem him from the pit he was 
sinking into, or the last message of mercy flashed from 
the throne. He started up, and a wild, despairing look 
instantly transformed his countenance as though he un- 
derstood. But the evil spirits were on the alert, and, 
after a short, sharp struggle the fiendish expression was 
resumed, and he rose from the seat and stalked out on 
the platform and hurried away toward the main city. 

And this was the man that Bill Thornton declared to 
be the leader of the Ozark bandit league, but who was 
he and what was he doing here ? Was he hunting up 
some one of his band who had turned traitor to-dispatch 
him ? No, for the only two that had the courage to do 
that were not here. Then what was he doing here.^ 
Seeking Hart Emerson. What for ? We shall soon 
see. 

But let us leave him seeking for Hart Emerson and 
see what Hart was doing himself. We have not followed 
any of his movements since we left him riding away from 
home toward the city, little dreaming that the written 
confession he had locked up and left behind would be un- 
earthed before he returned. 

Night had again spread her sombre mantle over the 
little mountain metropolis, and the street lamps were 


448 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


throwing their fitful glare over the streets and pavements 
of the city, while the moon overhead shed its pale light 
in addition thereto. The pavements were thronged with 
people of all sizes, sexes and colors hurrying to and fro. 
All the wealth and fashion of the city seemed on parade. 
A grand entertainment was to come off at one of the 
popular halls, and the elite was swarming thither. 

Hart Emerson was jubilant to-night in spite of the 
loss of his fortune. For the first time in his life perhaps 
he felt a sentimental emotion in his soul. What if he 
had lost his money, he would put his lady love to the 
severest test then by telling her, and then if she loved 
him she would surely flee with him and help him to build 
up another competence. Oh, if he only had her for his 
wife Hart believed he would develop into a noble man if 
he could bury in one grave all the miserable recollections 
of the past so they would not appear again to torment 
him. Vain hope! Even now as he walked along with 
the fair Elsie Britman clinging to his arm toward the hall 
where the entertainment was to be, the lurking shadows 
of past sins were staring at him from out the dark re- 
cesses, and a pair of furtive dark eyes was watching him 
with a deadly gleam. 

But the days passed slowly by and nothing definite 
had been arrived at yet by either Hart or the man that 
was watching him. It was not nntil he had at last dared 
his fate and been rejected that Hart discovered the pres- 
ence of his shadower. 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


449 


Then, as a natural consequence, he believed he had 
discovered the source from which eminated the cause of 
his rejection. All the old evil of the past returned with 
twofold energy to his comprehension; all the bright 
future he had pictured in his imagination had vanished, 
and the ghosts of his past deeds appeared now in their 
place. All the old temptations again tugged at him, and 
like all evil deers in the depths the promptings of the 
better nature were soon silenced. Much as he had 
sinned to gain other coveted objects Hart told himself 
that he would stop at nothing — not even murder, which 
he had hitherto shunned — to gain the hand of Elsie 
Britman in marriage. 

The third day after the appearance of the ominous 
looking stranger was drawing to a close. The November 
sun was gliding toward the Western horizon, the light of 
it filtering through the orchards and shrubbery of the 
grounds around the residence of the retired set that 
fringed the Eastern limits of the city. The day had 
been quiet, the croquet grounds deserted and empty, and 
the fashionable idlers who had chosen for their perman- 
ent residence this charming spot, having grown tired of 
the round of gayeties, were endeavoring to pass the time 
in some indoor amusement, or enjoying a season of rest 
and quiet. The park, which was the* pride of the city, 
was also deserted and quiet. It lay just between the re- 
tired peoples’ cluster of residences and the old part of 
the town. The house of the old bachelor uncle whp 


450 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


had left his property to Hart was the last one inside the 
limits, and was unlike the rest of the houses in the neigh- 
borhood, as it was an old fashioned one, large and roomy 
like the old patrician dwellings of Southern gentlemen, 
surrounded with the usual plank fence, fringed with tall, 
stately poplars, and the yard studded with neat cedars 
and shrubbery, and the tall chimney stacks looming up 
in their majestic splendor silhouetted against the fresh, 
white paint of the walls by the sun, deepening the hue 
of the red bricks that composed them, the mansion 
seemed a monument of old fashioned splendor and a 
rebuke to the oddly fashioned, glass doored, porticoed 
residences 'around it, with their close, stuffy rooms and 
bare looking yards. It was here in this old house the 
third day that Hart sat in the West room with his feet 
carelessly braced against the wall next to the black 
polished frame of the fireplace reading a note, while a 
smile of grim satisfaction slowly settled over his weird, 
brigand-like countenance. The note was from Elsie 
Britman and was a reply to one he had sent her begging 
for one more meeting, in the park that night. The reply 
was satisfactory, as she promised to meet him and listen 
to what he had to say. 

“Humph,” he muttered to himself as a grim smile of 
satisfaction deepened, “I wonder if I am to be baffled 
after all these years of wretched scheming .? I’ll have to 
tell some pretty stiff yarns, I reckon. Curse him, I say. 
He’s followed me like a bloodhound all this time, and I 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


451 


must not let him get the drop on me. I might have 
known it was he. Tom would have come up like a man 
and told me what he wanted. I think he has acted the 
gentleman in not unfolding my history to her, but Jack 
is a bloody ogre that would stop at nothing to make me 
trouble.” 

Hart almost shook with fear as the name of his evil 
genius escaped his lips. 

Then his mind reverted to the days when the Marston 
and Emerson clans had strove in bloody conflict over the 
hills and dales of Eastern Kentucky. And he was the 
last of the Emerson’s. Was he, too, destined to fall at 
the hands of this mad member of the opposing clan ? 
He shuddered at the thoughts of it, and desperately tried 
to rally his courage. Nothing is better calculated to in- 
spire a man with bravery than the knowledge that a 
romantic young lady is the prize. He would be cool and 
collected, ready for the emergency. 

But when he had started on his way he felt better 
and more courageous, as he fumbled with the handsome 
silver mounted pistol in his overcoat pocket. It was not 
the custom for fashionable gentlemen to go about the 
city with a big Colt’s revolver strapped around him like 
the shadower. Hart, who was a great hand for outside 
appearance, and would rather be a fashionable villain 
and a genteel rogue than to be a member of Congress 
and be dressed in the outlandish style as some of the 
country rowdies were, felt himself superior to his enemy 


452 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


in his small minded way. Then a train of rosy fancies 
followed, in which he imagined his success in the scheme 
and recalled certain items of importance in regard to the 
girl’s manner, which led him to believe she loved him 
and was longing for him to prove his innocence of the 
charge. The selfish misconstrue the actions of others in 
their favor, the unselfish, when they misconstrue, do so 
against themselves. Conceit and selfishness always go 
hand in hand, modesty and unselfishness the same. 
Hart believed he was on the point of success, and his 
mind again began to form pictures of the future, in which 
he fancied a snug little cottage in some faraway spot 
with the girl he was going out to meet installed as mis- 
tress, while he strove in honest, manful toil for a living. 
But what a pity that these reflections of an honest life 
came too late. With these rosy fancies engrossing his 
mind Hart Emerson went out to meet his doom. 

A little later he was in the park seated in one of the 
rustic seats . awaiting her coming. The chance for an 
unmolested interview was excellent. The park was as 
empty of living objects except himself as a cemetery. 
The wind stirred the half withered leaves overhead, but 
their feint rustle only seemed like so many encouraging 
whispers to the waiting man. Would she come ? Yes, 
he persuaded himself, she was not the girl to promise 
anything she did not intend to fulfill. According to his 
reasoning she had not been holding out false hopes to 
him, but had suddenly been informed that he was a wolf 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


453 


in sheep’s clothing, a serpent with a gruesome record, 
and was only putting him ofif to see if he could prove to 
the contrary, see if he could prove her informant a base 
slanderer. That he believed it would be no trouble to 
accomplish. Was not the mad member of the opposing 
clan his sworn enemy, and could he not prove it. Then, 
having proved that, he could easily invent some artful 
story that would reinstate him in the girl’s favor, and 
then all would be well. The rustling leaves overhead 
seemed to repeat his thoughts in words ending with an 
emphasized “All will be well,’" while the distant roar 
and din of the city seemed like the receding tumult of 
the host of mocking demons that had but lately attacked 
him, and the ghosts of the past tumbling into the abyss 
of oblivion. It was the yawning precipice fringed with 
the rose thicket of imagination, and Hart Emerson’s 
sudden craving for an honest life was only the crucified 
better nature resurrected by the volcanic convulsions 
of evil, but was too late to save him from the doom that 
awaited him. 

But we must go back a little and describe another 
scene before we do the one that took place in the park. 
Hart did not know the girl had a favored lover who had 
the proofs of his guilt in black and wl)ite recorded by his 
own hand. . 

Clayton Palliser, believing Hart had a strong hold, 
had determined to break it with one destructive blow. 

Being pretty well versed in the etiquette of high 


454 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


society, he knew it would be a breach thereof to mention 
her name in connection with Hart’s, or to even hint that 
he knew of Hart’s attentions to her. 

The afternoon was waning. Shortly after dispatch- 
ing the note to Hart Elsie Britman stood in the reception 
room of the Britman mansion looking out of the window 
at the departing day, her mind absorbed- in serious but 
calm reflection. Her solemn gray eyes had a faraway 
expression, as though she was dwelling on some past 
scene that haunted her yet. No one could believe this 
queenly girl would be capable of anything that had the 
least taint of baseness or could entertain any other 
thoughts but those that were grand and noble. Stand- 
ing in the light of the window, silent and thoughtful, 
attired in a neat winter costume of a dark green color 
and her yellow hair arranged in the style of the day, she 
looked as though she was a prize well worth striving for. 

The eyes are the windows of the soul and have more 
influence over people than any other feature. The com- 
plexion may be ever so perfect, the ears small and well 
shaped, with the delicate tint of the sea shell, the features 
may be ever so regular and smooth, the hair ever so 
silken, if the eyes bespeak something of the soul that is 
not to the liking of the observer there is an inward re- 
vulsion. Nobility of character is no material attraction 
for all people, but when it looks at you out of the win- 
dows, colored in different hues, it is an attraction that 
inspires everybody with pleasant sensations. The evil 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


455 


minded see there mercy, enticing them to reform, the 
worldly minded see a warning to avoid the same pit that 
was yawning for the man who awaited the coming of 
this fair girl, while those whose minds were like Clayton 
Palliser’s had been, burdened with great trouble, saw 
sympathy, and altogether these consolidated jewels of 
heaven when unallayed, as in the case of Elsie Britman, 
wielded an influence which the possessor was unconscious 
of. It was her sympathetic nature that first had induced 
her to take any interest in Clayton Palliser, whom she 
then regarded as an ordinary rustic, — a young moun- 
taineer, handsome of course, no one could gainsay that 
— whose bodily vigor was well employed in battling with 
the rough mountain soil. But at last she heard the story 
of his bereavement, and a chance colloquy with him 
revealed to her what a grand mind he possessed. Then 
a little later she saw him as Jack would have expressed 
it, ‘ ‘ dyked up, ” that is he seemed like another man when, 
having cast off the every-day garb and donned his Sun- 
day suit, Elsie Britman realized that the ideal hero she 
had dreamed of had been found. She was at first at- 
tracted to him because she thought him an object of pity, 
needing her sympathy; now she was gazing out of the 
window with a vague sort of hope that the prince of her 
heart would appear, and wondering wliy he was so neg- 
lectful of her. Clayton had forecasted the result even 
better than he imagined. If he had made the impres- 
sion he desired his neglect would deepen it; if she only 


456 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


considered him a dupe she would respect him for dis- 
cerning it. Although she was endowed with so many 
noble qualities, Else was not the woman to fall in love 
with a weak man, — only a man full of mental and bodily 
power could ever call her wife. Perhaps that was where 
Hart Emerson was lacking in. True, he was handsome 
enough in a way, as far as personal appearance was con- 
cerned, and was possessed of an easy, graceful manner, 
but the girl had long ago decided that his mind was a 
weak, self absorbed one, destitute of any grand, noble 
thoughts or ambitions. Yet, as far as a society figure 
was concerned, he was well enough, and she had kept 
him as an agreeable companion and escort, thinking he 
was doing the same by her, as no word of love had been 
spoken during their five years of acquaintance. Now she 
was pained to discover it was a crucial test for him to 
part with her, and that he loved her. She would meet 
him to-night and try to console him, and yet there was a 
vague comprehension that she would like to see Clayton 
before she went. She was in a distressed frame of mind 
and tried to wear it awayTy thinking of Clayton and 
wishing he would appear. She seemed to have a pre- 
monition that he would, however absurd it might seem, 
as there was nothing, positively nothing, but his own will 
could prevent it or make it come about. 

John Britman, to be brief, was exceedingly demo- 
cratic. He would far rather have a respectable rustic in 
his house as a guest than a millionaire with a smutty 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


457 


reputation. He argued that the harder the upper crust 
of society was the more demoralizing the effect would be 
upon society in general, as it had the tendency of de- 
veloping all the worst qualities of the struggling masses 
beneath. He pointed to the numerous crimes that 
teemed in the columns of the newspapers as the struggles 
of certain misguided people to obtain the key that un- 
locked the door of society — money — which, he said, was 
radically wrong and would disappear when a social fabric, 
founded on principle was reared. “If we are to bear 
the name of Christians and a Christian nation,” he in- 
sisted, “we must follow the teachings of the Master and 
not consider ourselves better than other people because 
we have better houses, better clothes, better food and 
better means of conveyance. Why should I associate 
with a man on the street that I would not invite into my 
house in order to manipulate a few dollars out of his 
pocket into mine ? I tell you our social fabric is decayed 
and must be torn down and remodeled. It is built upon 
a shifting, sandy foundation.” 

Knowing this all, Clayton Palliser had no hesitation 
in visiting the Britmans at their palatial home. 

Elsie was thinking, and her thoughts, if they could 
have taken the form of words, would have been thus : 

“ How strange a circumstance I should bethinking 
of him; a poor young mountaineer with a sad story, and 
his life shadowed like that, when I have had the cream 
of the elite at my feet ever since I made my debut,”— 


458 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


With a nervous little chuckle she remembered that Hart 
was ignorant of all this — but — another musical chuckle 
at the junction of the two buts, — “I long to comfort 
him. I love him, yes I love him, and if I am an excep- 
tional type of woman, one that all men desire to wed, it 
is he that needs me. I wonder why he does not write. 
Did he ask permission to write just to gratify his vanity, 
knowing I would give him permission } No, I cannot be- 
lieve that. Perhaps he thinks I am no fit wife for a man 
like him, and is trying to forget me. Yet how I have 
trembled at the announcement of these terrible conflicts 
for fear his name would be among the killed. Yet if I 
only knew that he loved me as I do him, and if he were 
my betrothed husband, I could give him up willingly to 
see this half barbarous country thoroughly civilized. But 
I know now the depressing influence of uncertainty. Has 
he not endured it for a long time and made no complaint.? 
Why should I not do the same .? Yet I would like to see 
him before I go to meet that poor, deluded wretch who 
has been such a pet among the small minded, fashionable 
people who look at the exterior and are content with it 
if it is showy. Some girls would go to pieces on that 
rock, but not I. Clayton Palliser is a man; Hart Emer- 
son a costly imitation, that’s all.” 

She turned from the window with a sigh. ‘ ‘ Ah, what 
is life without love,” she said aloud as she viewed the 
elegant interior, the pretty bric-a-brac, the elegant 
cushioned chairs, the costly pictures that adorned the 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


459 


wall and compared them to what she imagined the hum- 
ble furniture in the little mountain home of her lover. 
“It is all very well to possess these things that belong to 
art, but without one of nature’s noblemen to love me, I, 
for one, will be neither satisfied nor happy.” 

Then she drew a chair near the window and sat down 
and commenced to muse again, ending in a mental pic- 
ture in which she fancied herself an old maid, reigning 
alone in this great house and longing for some one to 
love her, shield her, confide in her. 

“ Better the life of a poor farmer’s wife than that,” 
she murmured. 

“But suppose the farmer made a drudge and a slave 
out of you and you died of overwork,” said a voice be- 
hind her, startling her from her reverie. 

She rose quickly, and not forgetting her training, 
bowed and spoke, but did not at first recognize the man 
who had thus interrupted her train of thoughts. Strange 
thing that she did not recognize the object of her 
thoughts, for it was Clayton Palliser who now stood be- 
fore her. 

He returned her greeting in a puzzled sort of manner, 
while he hardly knew what to make out of the greeting 
accorded him. She returned his gaze steadily for a sec- 
ond, and then bursting into a merry peal of laughter ex- 
tended her hand cordially while she overwhelmed him 
with apologies like this : 


460 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


“Why, how do you do, Mr. Palliser, pray excuse me, 
I did not recognize you. In fact, I hadn’t seen or heard 
from you for so long that our^ past acquaintance seems 
more like a pleasant dream than reality.” 

Now if Clayton had loved her much before he loved 
her a hundred times better for this little speech, so full 
of artless yet powerful meaning. The Pallisers were 
always noted for hard and fast love making, but they 
knew also just how far to go and did not believe in rush- 
ing things. It is hard to keep one’s love pent up at all, 
but when a man is in the presence of a woman he wor- 
ships and has heard her soliloquizing about him, and has 
been as good as told he is preferred to all others, then he 
surely has hard work to curb the passionate words that 
struggle for escape. 

She motioned him to a seat, but he did not take it 
then. He was not ready. He was one of those per- 
sons who, when they set out to enjoy themselves do so 
thoroughl}^ and if they cannot do that, find better satis- 
faction in work. 

“But I shall not sit down, Miss Elsie, till I am satis- 
fied my company is agreeable,” he said in a tone calcu- 
lated to make her believe her failure to recognize him at 
first made him doubtful of the truthfulness of her cordial 
greeting. This sally had the effect of nettling the girl a 
little, and she replied quietly but forcefully: 

“Did I not tell you that already.-* What need to 
repeat it. Do you think me a coquette, who would not 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


461 


treat you the same here in my own social circle as I did 
out in the country 

He held Up his hand with a warning gesture, for he 
saw she was waxing warm. “Stop, Miss Elsie,” he said 
suavely. “ Don’t go any further, please. I have acted 
very foolish I believe, for to tell the truth your greeting 
satisfied me on that point. Yet I know you women 
folks have an entirely different nature than we of the 
sterner sex, and I had an idea I had forfeited the privi- 
lege you granted me formerly, and I could not feel satis- 
fied till I was reassured. But I beg pardon if I have 
unintentionally aroused your feelings, for if there is a 
person on earth I want to please more than any one else, 
it is you. ” 

She gazed at him with those soulful orbs burning 
with the bright fire of love, — that mysterious, heavenly 
feeling that consumes for a time at least all inferior 
thoughts, — and then she realized that this strong minded 
handsome man was her lord and king whether he lived 
in a palace and dared sumptuously every day or in a 
hovel, and shoveled dirt or earned his daily bread by his 
daily toil. 

“Since you were careless enough to forfeit it, you 
could not have valued it much.” 

This came from her warm, red lips as she raised her 
eyes seemingly in an appeal to the powers of the air. 
The light of the opposite window shining in her face 
made her appearance so angelic that Clayton would not 


462 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


have been surprised to see her vanish through the walls 
of the room. 

“ Oh, I see what you have reference to now,” he ex- 
claimed, and he could hardly refrain from a sheepish 
expr.ession of countenance as he spoke. “You make 
me feel so mean. Miss Elsie, I don’t know how I can 
ever atone for my neglect. You had reference to me not 
writing, did you not 

She nodded assent. 

“Well, since you have been so kind as to reinstate 
me in your favor I will tell you the plain truth about 
that, and then I know you will like me better than if I 
had told you something else you could not quite believe. 
To begin with, you know my mind was much burdened 
with my father’s strange fate, and the hours I spent in 
your company were the only gleam of real sunshine that 
has relieved me from the terrible strain and burden that 
has been on me for the last few years. When I was 
with you I forgot to think about him, whether his body 
had been cast in some secluded spot, a prey for carrion 
birds, or thrown into some rude, rough, hastily dug hole 
to be torn out by wild beasts and devoured, and his 
bones left to bleach under the action of the elements. 
Then it was my fancy did not see some murderous villain 
with upraised arm to strike the fatal blow, or raising one 
of those murderous revolvers carried by these rough 
mountaineers and — well, I knew the Palliser grit well 
enough to know that no matter how much advantage his 


■THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


463 


opponent might have he would not give up without a 
struggle. But why should I worry you with such grue- 
some talk as this,” he interrupted himself apologetically, 
“I was only explaining to you what horrible imagina- 
tions burdened my mind, which were only alienated when 
I was with you. But the reason I did not write was 
because I did not then know you were old enough to en- 
tirely overlook the difference in our. social position, and 
I took you to be much younger than you are. That is, 
I took you to be sixteen or thereabouts when you are 
twenty, which I found out quite by accident along with 
other things which entirely change my affairs in every 
imaginable way. I know girls of sixteen and seventeen 
are very shifting and changeable, and hard to suit, and 
thought perhaps your fine friends might plague you about 
your country admirer, and feared I would not meet with 
the success I would like to have.” 

Elsie stood as motionless as a statue, with her great, 
burning eyes fixed intently upon him, while Clayton, as 
he was speaking, occasionally let his eyes fall to the floor, 
for he could scarcely collect his thoughts with that queenly 
girl standing there facing him, and his heart bounding 
joyously with all the blessings that had been but recently 
poured out for him, and longing to take her in his arms 
and kiss his heart out on those ruby lips. 

Elsie realized that it was time to call a halt, and a 
moment later they were seated near the window engaged 
in an animated conversation. No ancient story teller 


464 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


was ever listened to with better attention than Clayton 
was while he related all of his adventures, which we have 
already recorded. 

The evening wore away at last, and night again fell 
over the city. Clayton remained till dark, and then took 
his departure, well satisfied with his success. He had no 
fear of Hart Emerson now, and his naturally sympathetic 
nature caused him to feel somewhat sorrowful for the 
man who had wronged him and who, he believed, was 
now reaping the fruits of his sowing, and loved the girl 
as much-as he did himself. 

“I can feel sorry for any one who loves Elsie Brit- 
man and is not loved in return,” he soliloquized as he 
wended his way back to his hotel in the modern quarter 
of the town. 

But what would he have thought had he been in the 
park a little later and witnessed his adored one walk- 
ing briskly toward a man sitting on one of the rustic 
benches and watching her approach with eager eyes, 
having a strange hungry light in them, while the quieted 
tumult in his soul, as seen by Ornniscent eyes, was only 
like a lull in a storm, — the powers of darkness were 
hovering near, ready to pounce upon him again. 

She came up smiling, and her face had in its expres- 
sion all the encouragement the poor deluded wretch 
needed, but the smile was not on account of her pleasure 
at meeting with him,— it was on account of her love for 
the man Hart Emerson had wronged, and had Hart been 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


465 


aware of the truth it would have been like a red hot knike 
thrust into his heart. But he did not know, and he 
never dreamed the time he spent in parleying with this 
girl he had courted so long and felt sure of winning, had 
better be spent on his knees asking pardon from his 
Maker for his gigantic misdeeds. 

“Ah, darling Elsie,” he exclaimed as he arose and 
came to meet her, ‘ ‘ you have come, I see. I was a brute 
to doubt you.” 

He tried to take her hands in his, but she drew away 
from him and sat down on the seat, exclaiming : 

“No, no. Hart, you are wrong if you think I came 
here to be made love to. I have come to meet you and 
comfort you if it is as you said that you are in trouble.” 

“Trouble he reiterated. “Why, I should say so. 
Why, Elsie, I never had much of anything else in my 
life.” 

“ But you never kept any of it long enough to worry 
you,” exclaimed a voice near by. 

Hart had seated himself at the girl’s side as he spoke, 
and so close upon his last word was the first word of the 
other speaker that they both started up and looked fur- 
tively around for the intruder. But although Hart did 
not see him he knew the voice, and a spasm of deadly 
fear convulsed him. His eyes assumed the expression of 
the unlucky frog in the deadly fangs of the snake, and 
the girl, noticing it, was quite overwhelmed with a grue- 


466 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


some sensation for a brief moment. While she was thus 
overcome Hart was endeavoring to rally his courage for 
the encounter which he knew was bound to take place. 

Presently he spoke to Elsie, and perhaps for once in 
his life he told the exact truth. 

“Elsie,” he said, and in spite of his best efforts his 
voice shook. “Elsie, I have never told you there was 
once a deadly feud between our family and the Marstons 
back there in Kentucky. Well, this man who is eaves- 
dropping is a mad member of the other clan who was 
sent to state prison for the murder of an uncle of mine. 
He has served out his time, and, like the madman he is, 
he is hunting down and killing us Emersons as if we were 
so many rabbits. I don’t want you to be a witness to a 
tragedy, but I am going to put a stop to his career. This 
is no place for you, but I cannot escort you home for if 
I start off he will shoot me from behind, and likely 
enough wound or kill you.” 

“No fear of that, young lady,” said a voice, which 
made them both start again. 

Turning, they beheld in front of them a tall, danger- 
ous looking man, and the gruesome sensations that had 
enveloped the girl were renewed. 

A sardonic smile illumined the face of the stranger, 
and he spoke thus : 

“Well, you managed to make one little speech in 
your life with a little grain of truth in it. Hart. I con- 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE: 


467 


gratulate you, but it came near not being in your life after 
all, for that will be cut short. Young lady, go home and 
be happy with the lover that is worthy of you. This one 
is not fit to scrub your dinner pot. His heart is blacker 
than the soot in the flue of your house. He swore a lie 
against me and caused me to drag out a term at hard 
labor in the penitentiary, and I have taken an oath to 
exterminate his race, who never have been anything but 
a set of natural born devils. Here are you now being 
tormented with one of these devils, but I have come to 
cast him out. I have told you — ” 

“Stop, Jack,” shouted Hart hoarsely. “Tell me 
who that other lover is. You never did me a good turn 
in your life, and I don’t blame you either. It is natural 
for you to believe us all devils, just as we did you, but 
tell me if you know who that other lover of this girl is.” 

“She has one that is worthy of her, and you love 
him, too, don’t you young lady.?” 

Elsie nodded assent. She was too frightened to 
speak. 

“That is all I will tell you. Hart, and now let us get 
to business,” exclaimed the man as he drew a 'big pistol 
and stepped back. 

Elsie made a motion to expostulate, but Hart cut her 
short with the ringing command, which perhaps was the 
first one of the kind she had ever received : 

“Get out of here and go home, quick. No use to 


468 


THE ROSE CROWNED PRECIPICE. 


expostulate with him. Not a bit of it, He will kill 
me, Elsie, but you will be my murderer as well as he, 
because I shall not defend myself since I have found out 
you have a more favored lover than me. ” 

Bang — whiz went the forty- five calibre revolver, 
and the echo had no sooner died away mid the labyrinth 
of streets, buildings and groves of the city’s outskirts 
than the girl took flight as fast as her feet could carry 
her, the deafening report of the pistol drowning the thud 
of her old lover’s body as it fell, and the smothered groan 
that followed. 






Clayton was left alone with the man that had been the foundation 
of his troubles. 


CHAPTER XXI. 


HART EMERSON’S REPARATION. 

Clayton went back to his hotel with a lighter heart 
than he had. known for many a day. . Things seemed to 
come his way at last, and the heart that had been weighed 
down with depressing circumstances is much more joyous 
than the one that is surfeited when at last the long, 
steady and patient exertions bear fruit, and the bands of 
fate are broken. Every wish of his had been granted. 
He could not feel the old joyous impulses of youth when 
his mind was filled with youthful fancies, but he felt the 
impulses of a man who had conquered after a hard 
struggle. 

Arriving at the hotel, he found his way to his room 
at once. Supper was always served by lamp light in the 
winter season, and he would have plenty of time to think 
before the assembling of the guests for the evening meal. 
He felt like a gentleman of leisure for the first time in 
his life. 

He pushed open the door. Sqme one was there. 
The next instant he recognized Bill Thornton. 

“ Hello elate, where have you been exclaimed Bill, 
who was reading a newspaper and marked the place with 

(471) 


472 


HART EMERSON’S REPARATION. 


his thumb when he looked up. A glad light came into 
Clayton’s countenance. 

“What luck, Bill.?” he exclaimed excitedly. “What 
have you found now .?” 

“They’ve been at it again over in the valley,” ejacu- 
lated Bill. “See here, date,” he continued, jumping 
up and placing the paper before Clayton’s eyes. 

“I’ve seen that. Bill, or heard of it,” he exclaimed 
indifferently. “I asked you what luck.?” 

“He’s there,” exclaimed Bill, throwing down the 
paper. 

“What is he doing.?” asked Clayton. '“Does he ever 
go out .?” 

“Yes, but I’ll be hanged if I can follow him to save 
my life. He hasn’t gone out but twice, but he gives me 
the dodge all the time.” 

• “Does he know you.?” Clayton asked abruptly. 

“No, I think not. At least if he does he does not 
let on. He must have a charmed life.” 

“Why.?” asked Clayton. 

“Because, with all my caution to get him in the toils 
he slips out every time.” 

“Well, we must watch our corners and maybe we’ll 
get him yet,” was Clayton’s response. 

Bill and Clayton had been sent up to Springfield for 
the purpose of effecting the arrest of the outlaw chief, 
but neither of them ever dreamed of the difficulty attend- 


HART Emerson’s reparation. 


473 


ing the task. Now that the chief was spotted and some 
one on the side of the law knew him it was supposed to 
be a very easy task. Tom Alton had been the instigator 
of the plot, for he was anxious to show the people who 
and what the outlaw chief was, for he believed when 
that was once effected he would once more be in posses- 
sion of the confidence and good will of the people. He 
was possessed of a longing to settle down to a quiet life 
again, but how could that be done with such a foul 
stigma upon his namel Every hand was against Tom 
Alton, the terrible freebooter, and many people perhaps 
would not hesitate to shoot him on sight. He knew 
the white portion of the population would not swallow 
his declarations of innocence as readily as the two faith- 
ful darkies that loved the old name and who had been 
born on the plantation. Therefore he was not only in- 
stigated by a desire to clear himself but a desire to 
avenge himself upon the person who had thrown such an 
everlasting stigma over his own name. 

So, while Tom and Nick were riding in the direction 
of the valley where so many dark deeds had been enacted, 
Clayton and Bill were pursuing their way to the city to 
see if they could find any way to effect the capture of the 
bandit chief. , 

Clayton had come with a threefold purpose. One 
was the object we have mentioned, another was to see 
the girl he loved so well, while still another was to attend 
the sale of the Emerson estate, which would take pla^^e 


474 


HART Emerson’s reparation. 


in a week from that day. He had taken lodgings at a 
hotel, while Bill, who could not be expected to stay long 
in one place, roosted wherever night overtook him. Bill 
had been dodging about a great deal in pursuit of the 
chief, but he was careful to disguise himself so he would 
not be recognized, for it was not safe for the chief to get 
the upper hand of any one he knew to be a traitor. Now 
that the gang was fast going to pieces, it was more than 
probable traitors would be shown no mercy. 

But so far Bill had been unable to secure his game, 
and he had sought out Clayton with the intention of 
asking his advice as to whether it would be of any use 
to pursue the matter. 

“Watch our corners be hanged,” snorted Bill. 
“Haven’t I done everything a man could do to get him.? 
I’ll bet a month’s wages he knows of *our presence here, 
and knows what we’re after. ” 

Clayton looked surprised, but only for an instant. 
That was, of course, a most natural thing for one of that 
stripe to expect his footsteps to be dogged by spies and 
detectives. Was there not already a large reward offered 
for the breaking up of the illicit distillery stowed away 
so snugly in the wild solitudes of Fox Valley .? Of course 
the false description would aid the chief in going boldly 
about in the haunts of civilized people, but for aught he 
knew that which had aided him in escaping the clutches 
of the law so long had been found out, and as he knew 
there had been traitors who had turned against them, he 


HART EMERSON’S REPARATION. 


475 


would now naturally expect the ofBcers of the law to be 
on his track. 

“Well, I wouldn’t give up till I was forced to, Bill,” 
said Clayton. “I think he must have some object up 
here, and he may effect his purpose and be gone before 
we know it.” 

“Quite right, date,” assented Bill. “But I would 
give a great deal to know exactly what his object is.” 

The supper bell sounded at that moment, and the 
noise and bustle of assembling guests began. The pair 
at once doffed their overcoats and hats and went into the 
dining room, where a variety of people were seating 
themselves around the table, which was loaded with 
delicious viands and gleaming table ware. This was one 
of the leading hotels, and although the table was very 
attractive and aristocratic, all the other surroundings 
were calculated to suit all classes of people and were 
very homelike and comfortable. 

The two' young men sat down together where they 
could have a square look at all who entered. Bill had 
taken off his disguise and never dreamed of the object 
of his pursuit entering such a crowded place as that. 
The click of the tableware, tlie rattle of knives on the 
plates and general noise of eating bega'n, with an occa- 
sional remark from the guests, and the meal had fairly 
begun. 

The noise of footsteps were heard at the door, and 


476 


HART EMERSON S REPARATION. 


Clayton and Bill cast quick glances in that direction. 
Both dropped their eyes immediately, for there was the 
bandit chief coming into the dining room looking like a 
Patagonian, with his tall form swaying carelessly around 
to avoid any collision with the waitresses, who hustled 
hurriedly around waiting on the table. 

There were several vacant places, and they were all 
of them opposite to where Clayton and Bill sat. The 
bandit chief, casting a furtive glance around the table, 
coolly seated himself without noticing any one in par- 
ticular. Both of our friends were too wise to give any 
signs of recognition, although they felt as though they 
would like to wash their hands of the job. They stole 
occasional glances at him, but the watchful, furtive dark 
orbs seemed to pierce them through whenever he vouch- 
safed them a look, which he occasionally did. 

It seemed as though that fierce countenance could 
quail the stoutest heart by even a casual glance at it, 
and Clayton and Bill noticed the other guests also gazing 
at him as though they deemed him a most remarkable 
man, but they also did not dare gaze for long at a time, 
for the sharp eyes shot around as though they were two 
sentinels armed to keep off meddlers. 

And in this way the meal was finished. The stranger 
ate hurriedly, as though he was afraid of missing his 
train, and when he arose from the table Clayton and his 
companion gave each other a warning nudge, and one 
after another the guests rose and went out. In the jum- 


-HART Emerson’s reparation. 


477 


ble of rushing guests the chief went out, closely followed 
by our two friends. 

“Quick, Bill, for our hats, and I’ll follow him,” whis- 
pered Clayton. 

Bill obeyed, and while Clayton followed the chief up 
and saw him enter the cloak room, Bill darted quickly 
into their room for their hats. No time for donning 
overcoats now. The night, although cool, was such 
that they would not suffer without their overcoats. 

The chief walked out of the cloakroom and to the 
entrance doer of the hotel, and our two friends closely 
followed. Keeping him well in sight, they followed him 
in hopes of striking a policeman or marshal. 

But before they had gone three blocks they struck a 
crowd of sidewalk loafers in front of another hotel, and 
when the chief passed through them they lost him. 

Bill could scarcely repress a volley of expletives at 
this unexpected turn of affairs, and resolved not to be 
outwitted. 

“Where did that man go.?” he inquired of the fellows 
who stood talking and smoking their cigars. 

“Into that little alley there,” answered one of them. 

‘ ‘ Don’t you see that little gate there .?” 

Bill looked up the walk and discovered a little gate at 
the mouth of a narrow alley by the light of the street 
lamp, and wondered if that had not been the reason he 
had been outwitted so many times, and the chief might 


478 


HART EMERSON’S REPARATION.- 


have entered just such places as that before when he so 
suddenly disappeared. 

“Does he ever come out after he enters there before 
morning 

“Naw, I don’t think he does,” replied the fellow. 
“At least I never saw him do it.” 

A brief interval of silence followed, during which our 
two friends were both debating the same thing in their 
minds. That was whether they had better take any of 
the loungers into their confidence or not. Clayton was 
first to make up his mind, and bending over he whispered 
in Bill’s ear: 

“Say, Bill, what do you think of taking these fellows 
into our confidence 

Bill, seeing that Clayton had decided to do so, made 
no objection to the proposition. The other fellows were 
whispering among themselves, wondering what they 
wanted of the dark, ominous looking stranger. One of 
them spoke up and asked : 

“What the devil do you want of him anyhow.?” 

The ice being now broken. Bill gave Clayton a nudge 
and exclaimed aloud : 

“Tell him, Clate. ” 

Clayton moved over and scanned the faces of the 
young men by the light of the hotel windows. He wanted 
to pick out the one that would be most likely to be in- 
terested and the most faithful and willing to aid. Finally 
he settled on an earnest looking young fellow about the 


HART EMERSON’S REPARATION. 


479 


age of twenty-five, and going up to him he said in a low 
voice : 

‘ ‘ I must tell you in a whisper, for it won’t do to tell 
it aloud. You will be greatly surprised at what I tell 
you, but if you are faithful to us perhaps you will be 
financially better off when we are through with you.” 

The fellow looked as though he would not be opposed 
to financial aid, and replied as his face lighted up with 
pleasant anticipation : 

“All right, pard, go on.” 

Clayton bent over and whispered : “That man is 
the leader of the Fox Valley outlaws, and if you help 
us capture him you will get part of the reward.” 

The fellow opened his. eyes wide with astonishment 
and gave a prolonged whistle. 

“\Vhew, pardner, but ain’t you on a false trail.? He 
doesn’t suit the description,” he remarked in a low, 
guarded tone. 

“Bill overheard this remark, and came close up to 
the fellow, and putting his hand on his shoulder said in 
a low voice : 

“That don’t make any difference, pardner. This 
man is the right man, and the real Tom Alton is as in- 
nocent as you are.” 

“You don’t say so,” replied the fellow slowly. “ Je- 
whillikins,” he ejaculated loudly, as though giving vent 
to his feelings. “I’m a good deal wiser than I was a 


480 


HART Emerson’s reparation. 


minute ago. But I promise you my aid, pards, providing 
you are willing to divide the reward with me.” 

The others became interested now, and came crowd- 
ing around eager to learn what the two intruders had 
imparted to their companion. Clayton, seeing their 
curiosity, seized the young man by the arm and said : 

“Come over here a minute, chum. I want to speak 
further with you.” 

Turning to Bill he said: “ Keep silent. Bill, and I 
will be back pretty soon.” 

Clayton took the young man up the walk about thirty 
or forty feet, and when they stopped Clayton again whis- 
pered to him: “That other fellow knows him. He 
joined the gang for the purpose of breaking it up.” 

‘ ‘ Who is he asked the other, beginning to feel very 
important to have a hand in some of the strange events 
transpiring. 

“ Bill Thornton,” replied Clayton. 

“And who are yon.?” asked the other, his curiosity 
greatly increased. 

“Clayton Palliser,” replied Clayton promptly. “If 
you are faithful to us and effect or help to effect the cap- 
ture of the robber chief you are welcome to my part of 
the reward. As for Bill, I don’t think he would give up 
his share. He is poor and needs it. I am poor myself, 
but I don’t want any blood money in mine.” 

“All right, pard,” replied the other enthusiastically. 
“What do you want me to do.?” 


HART EMERSON’S REPARATION. 


48 


“Watch here till midnight,” replied Clayton. “If 
he comes out be sure and have an officer here to arrest 
him if you can find one that is willing to undertake the 
task. You are doubtless acquainted with some of the 
police force, and you can set your trap for him. As for 
myself, I am willing to do all I can to rid the country of 
him, partly as I see it as my duty and partly to oblige 
the real man who bears all the blame for the wrongdoing 
of this terrible man. We probably would never have 
known the truth of the matter if it had not been for my 
friend Thornton. Now, do as I tell you to and we will 
go back to our hotel, and good luck go with you. If you 
effect the capture you will be both rich and famous. 
Good night.” 

And Clayton started briskly down the walk where he 
had left Bill and the others, thinking it would do no good 
for them to remain there, as the young man would cer- 
tainly let his companions into the secret and they would 
keep watch till midnight themselves. 

“Lets go, Bill,” he said as he came up, and the two 
started back up the walk, casting furtive glances into the 
little alley as they passed it. 

Both remained silent and thoughtful as they passed 
along, and when they got within a block of the hotel 
Bill paused suddenly before a similaV small alley and 
peered therein. Clayton’s curiosity was excited at once 
and he questioned him thus : 

“What’s the matter now, Bill?” 


482 


HART EMERSON’S REPARATION. 


Bill did not reply at once, but after a momentary 
hesitation said : “I was thinking how familiar this place 
looks. By George,” he exclaimed later, “this is the 
very place where I lost him once before.” 

This was the outskirt of the city and places were 
more recognizable to one unused to the city than in the 
thickly settled portion where everything looked just the 
same. Different houses of different materials and dif- 
ferent construction, with other noticeable features, aided 
the countryman in knowing his whereabouts, and Bill at 
once recognized the place where he had lost sight of his 
game the second time. 

“Are you sure of it. Bill inquired Clayton. 

“Sure of it Of course I am sure of it, Clate. 
What do you think of the case ? Are you of the opinion 
it was the other alley instead of this one that I lost sight 
of him the second time 

“Hanged if I know,” replied Clayton. “Let’s go 
home and go to bed. I’m getting sleepy.” 

When they reached the hotel and entered their room 
Bill let himself fall down into a chair without even taking 
off his hat, and, looking up at his companion, said : 

“Clate.” 

Clayton, who had been in a brown study, turned 
the lamp screw up and replied : 

“Well Bill, what is it.^ You have thought of some- 
thing new, I suppose.” 

“Not entirely new,” replied Bill nervously, raking his 


HART EMERSON’S REPARATION. 


483 


feet on the hard pine floor. “Did it ever strike you he 
had any purpose in coming here for his supper 

“Are you sure he had not been here before.?” 

“ Yes, quite sure.” 

“Well, do you think it was a pure accident he came 
here to-night !” 

“I’m sure I hadn’t thought of that part of it,” said 
Clayton, seating himself in the other chair. 

“Well, I’ll bet anything I possess he knew of our 
presence and came here on purpose to give us a dare,” 
exclaimed Bill in a positive tone. 

“Or to lure us into a trap and murder us,” responded 
Clayton in an impromptu manner like that of Jack. “I 
think it wouldn’t come amiss for us to be a little 
cautious,” he added. “ By- George, that fellow must be 
a first cousin to Old Nick himself, he looks so much like 
him.” 

Bill laughed a short laugh at this sally and replied : 
“Pretty good, date ; but I think myself he must be some 
kin to him. Why, I don’t believe there’s anything on 
earth he’s afraid of.” 

“Unless it be his own reflection in the glass,” re- 
sponded Clayton. 

Again Bill laughed a loud, hearty laugh. Clayton 
could hardly be excelled for humorous' sayings when he 
was in that sort of a mood. 

“I would give a good sum to know how this thing is 
going to turn out,” he remarked when Bill ceased laughing. 


484 


HART EMERSON’S REPARATION. 


“So would I,” replied Bill. “But as we doi/c know 
and have no prophetic powers all we can do is to wait 
and see.” 

Morning dawned over the city, and gradually the 
usual din and clatter came on. The people of a city like 
Springfield cannot afford to indulge in late hours like 
those of large towns and trading posts, and must be astir 
at an early hour to transact business during the season of 
short days. The noise of rushing trains, of hacks and 
livery rigs added to the scream of whistles and clatter of 
feet on the sidewalks increased as the morning star gradu- 
ally paled and grew dim before the approaching rays of 
the sun, while the wind, seeming to be loosed by the 
sun’s rays, began cavorting around through the streets, 
with its muffled roar, sweeping through alleys and streets 
as though on a warning errand of winter’s near approach. 
The sun rose gradually out of its eastern bed, as though 
in opposition to the chilly wind its rays would diffuse 
warmth and life to all living things, and as it rose higher 
and higher in the vault of heaven the city had started 
upon another day of its career. The moon, like -a 
departing watchman of the night, hung in the western 
sky, dim but discernible. What deeds, both good and 
bad, had it been witness of that November night ? Did 
the good or bad deeds predominate Who can tell till 
all things hidden shall be revealed. 

Our two friends had not lost any sleep over the mat- 
ter uppermost in their minds, but slept soundly despite 


HART Emerson’s reparation. 


485 


the fact of their being unused to so much noise. And it 
is probable that both of them had for their last waking 
thoughts the object of their affections, the one a city 
sybarite, the other a simple, sweet daughter of nature, 
the daughter of an outlaw. The one living in the midst 
of the splendor and glitter of a commercial metropolis, 
the other in the wilds of Fox Valley, surrounded by 
nothing but the wild, desolate solitudes of nature and 
rou^h and desperate lawbreakers. Whatja contrast in- 
deed. And yet it is these lovely, innocent creatures, in 
whatever walk of life they may be in, can tame the 
savage heart of man, and by a bestowal of their love 
make it as soft, tender and full of gentle compassion as 
their own. 

Bill was first to wal e, and after lying with his hands 
locked over his head a few minutes, he suddenly gave his 
companion a vigorous shake and ejaculated : 

“Hey, elate, ain’t you slept enough yet.!* Let’s get 
out and see how the thing turned out last night.” 

Clayton opened his eyes and, turning over in bed, gave 
a tremendous yawn and exclaimed : “Yes, I guess it’s 
time we were crawling out, but it makes a fellow feel as 
though he could stay forever in such a bed as this after 
being stiffened up on such an expedition we took to the 
Territory. I wonder what new and strange things we 
will hear about to-day that will increase our knowledge 
and fortunes. It seems as though fortunes and misfor- 
tunes always come in a bunch.” 


486 


HART EMERSON’S REPARATION. 


“ That’s right,” assented Bill as he rose up in bed and 
reached for his trousers. “I’ve taken notice of that on 
a small scale, for I never had any very large ones of 
either kind. I think my biggest misfortune, though, was 
being born and raised in that devil’s hole over there.” 

Clayton jumped out of bed and grabbed his pants as 
though he had been a doctor summoned to the bedside of 
some one that was dying. 

“Well that won’t hurt you any. Bill,” he exclaimed a 
little absently. “Let’s hurry and dress now or the bell 
may ring. I feel sort of queer this morning as though 
something was going to happen that concerned me deeply. 
What do you reckon it’ll be. Bill 

“Dogged if I’ll tell you, Clate,” replied Bill as he 
slipped one of his shoes on his foot and began lacing it. 
“It might be that our friend, the terrible, is in the toils,” 
he added. 

“Well, I’m eager to get out and see,” responded 
Clayton in a laughing tone. Bill looked up from his 
lacing and said in a half puzzled tone: 

“What’s the matter with you, Clate.? I never saw 
you so frolicsome since I became acquainted with you.” 

Clayton looked around at his friend and, fixing those 
melting dark orbs of his on him in searching gaze, hesi- 
tated a moment and replied : 

“Why, Bill, I didn’t think you were so stupid not to 
know how I feel since things have assumed a brighter 
aspect. But let that go for the present, we haven’t time 


HART Emerson’s reparation. 


487 


to discuss it. It’s natural for people to think that every 
one else feels like they themselves do.” 

“Oh, yes, that’s so,” replied Bill slowly, as he began 
his lacing again. “I’ll bet a dozen coonskins and a 
bushel of dried pumpkin you’ve got a sweetheart here in 
town, and she’s been smiling on you heavy since you’ve 
been up. Come now, own up to it old man,” and Bill 
shot his companion a roguish glance, which brought a 
smile into the latter’s countenance. 

“You’re a pretty good guesser, William,” he replied 
earnestly, “but who do you think was my honorable 
opponent 

Bill again looked puzzled. “Another mystery about 
to come to light,” he replied. “Please inform me.” 

“Well, it is our friend, Mr. Hart Emerson,” replied 
Clayton without hesitating. 

“Oh pshaw,” responded Bill, opening wide his big 
black eyes and dropping both ends of the shoe string. 
“Then it is Miss Britman that has taken you captive, 
is it 

Clayton replied in the affirmative, and as he finished 
speaking the breakfast bell rang. 

“Come on. Bill,” he exclaimed, “we haven’t got 
time just now, but I’ll tell you more about it later on,” 
and the two left the room and proceeded to the dining 
room, where the guests were assembling. 

Nothing of importance happened during the meal, 


488 


HART Emerson’s reparation. 


and when it was over our two friends buttoned their over- 
coats tightly, as the morning was very cool, and went 
out, intent on seeing what had been accomplished. It 
was early yet and not much stir was going on, but the 
business places were all open, with the clerks behind the 
counters, like spiders in their dens, waiting for flies to be 
caught in their nets, while the occasional and spasmodic 
noise of passing trains thundering through the city broke 
on their ears as though in a determined effort to be heard 
above the wind, which was beginning to rise in sharp 
spasmodic blasts. The smoke of the former day and 
night still hung in a damp haze over the city, nearly 
obscuring the sun, which was rising slowly up above the 
conglomerated mass, dispensing a murky halo of light 
over the city and landscape. But our two adventurers 
took but small notice of anything, but wended their way 
down the main street leading out of the city, wondering 
where they would find their confident. 

“There he is now, ” exclaimed Bill. “He’s coming 
to look for us, and I’ll bet something’s happened. Let’s 
hurry and meet him.” 

Bill was not mistaken. A moment more and they 
stood face to face with their confident. 

“Good morning Mr. Palliser, good morning Mr. 
Thornton.” The young man was first to speak as he 
came up. 

A moment’s repressed curiosity upon the part of our 
two friends, and Clayton answered him thus : 


HART Emerson’s reparation. 


489 


“Good morning Mr. — , I don’t believe I know your 
name,” he added hesitatingly. “What’s the news.?” 

The fellow let his eyes fall upon the walk as though 
he felt guilty in their sight for not having performed the 
task they had set for him, and replied after a second’s 
hesitation : 

“Oh, nothing in regard to the matter we were talking 
about last night. We did as you told us to, and watched 
till midnight, but our game never came out.” 

These were dejecting news to our two friends, but 
especially to Bill, who was thinking more about the 
financial part than any other. He longed earnestly to 
secure a home for himself so he could ask Bessie Harper 
to share it, and as it had been his object to break up the 
gang when he joined he thought that when the leader 
of them was once in the toils the task would be much 
easier. But he was still more dejected when he learned 
what had transpired that night. 

The young man evidently had something to tell them 
by his manner, and Clayton loosed his tongue by asking 
him if_that was all he had to tell. 

“No, not all the news exactly,” he went on slowly. 
“A man was shot in the park last night. But he did not 
die, although he never regained consciousness till about 
sunrise this morning.” 

“Who was it.? Did he give his name.?” said Clayton 
and Bill in the same breath. “Who did the shooting.?” 
continued Bill. 


490 


HART EMERSON’S REPARATION. 


“I don’t think I can remember the name the man 
gave. A friend of mine told me about it early this 
morning. Anyway he’s the man that has lately fallen 
heir to that big place out there,” pointing eastward. 

Clayton and Bill both exchanged startled glances, 
and the young man noticing it exclaimed : 

“You gentlemen seem to know who it was by that,” 
letting out a broad grin. 

“Was it Emerson.?” inquired Clayton anxiously. 

“Yes, that’s the name,” answered the fellow with a 
sudden beam of intelligence. “Are you acquainted with 
him .?” 

“Yes, slightly,” replied Clayton, and then continued: 
“Will you escort us to the hospital .? We must see the 
man that was shot as quick as possible.” 

“Ah, is that so .?” exclaimed the young man. “ May 
I ask why you wish to see him .?” 

“Come along then, I’ll tell you on the way,” said 
Bill with an impatient gesture. “Lead the way if you 
know it.” 

A minute later the trio were walking toward the hos- 
pital as fast as their legs could carry them. Their con- 
fident told them a few minor details concerning the night 
watch and then remained silent, every now and then be- 
stowing a questioning look upon them. Bill had forgot- 
ten his promise he made about informing the fellow why 


HART Emerson’s reparation. 


491 


they were so anxious to see Hart Emerson, and Clayton, 
after waiting till they had gone several blocks, reminded 
him of it. 

Bill Thornton did not possess a very good memory in 
regard to small matters, but his mind was tolerably well 
stored with knowledge, considering the place he had 
been reared in. Like Jack Dalton, he considered Clay- 
ton a fine model of a man and never had been so con- 
scious of his own defects in his whole life before he 
became acquainted with him. He turned his head when 
Clayton spoke and said to their confident in a low but 
distinct voice : 

“The reason we wish to see the man that was shot 
last night is because the chances are about forty to one 
that the fellow we set you to watch is the one that shot 
him.” 

To say that the man was surprised at this announce- 
ment would be to express it mildly. He blubbered and 
emitted a string of oaths as long as the thoroughfare; he 
wanted to know all the whys and wherefores of the case, 
and gave evidence of being unduly excited for the dis- 
tance of a block, till at last Bill cut him short by saying: 

“Oh, nevermind about knowing it all now, chum. 
We’re in the hurry of our lives now to get there and see. 
I’ll bet a hundred dollars,” he added, turning to Clayton, 
“that it’s been old Telegraph Pole that did the work. 
You know what we were talking about over there the 
other day i*” 


492 


HART Emerson’s reparation. 


“I don’t see any reason for disputing your opinion, 
Bill,” assured Clayton, “If it is really the case you 
might as well give up the chase for this time.” 

“That’s just what I was thinking about,” responded 
Bill in a worried voice. “If it was him did the shoot- 
ing you won’t see any more of him around here very soon 
I’m thinking, ” 

“But how the devil do you reckon he got away with- 
out us seeing him put in the young man. “ I can’t 
see for my part how he ever got out of there without us 
seeing him. ” 

“Well, it’s my opinion we’d as well give it up and 
wait till we are better enlightened,” remarked Clayton, 
as he checked up to let a livery rig cross the pavement. 
“I see it all now as plain as the nose on your face,” he 
added with a sudden beam of intelligence after the buggy 
had passed and they started on. 

“What is it, elate.?” remarked Bill, looking around 
at his companion with eager expectancy. 

“Why, Bill, how stupid we are not to think of it 
before,” replied Clayton. “Don’t you remember a tall, 
dark stranger inquiring for Hart Emerson at the depot 
down at Republic the other day .?” 

Bill gave his head a sudden jerk of surprise and 
replied: “That’s so. I wonder why we didn’t think of 
it before. Yes, you are right, date, we’re in the soup 
now, for I see it all as plain as you do.” 


HART Emerson’s reparation. 


493 


The other fellow listened intently to all that was 
said and remarked shrewdly : “Then I gaess it’s some- 
thing about the settlement of an old grudge, isn’t it ? 
Maybe it was that man’s object in going into outlawry to 
avenge himself on some of his enemies.” 

The young man was duly informed in regard to the 
matter before they reached the hospital, and gave evidence 
of being greatly excited. He made all sorts of depre- 
cating remarks about having performed his task that 
night till they told him there was no use blaming him- 
self for the failure, as he had carried out their instruc- 
tions. When they arrived there he excused himself and 
left them, wishing them all manner of good luck. 

Clayton’s heart experienced some new and strange 
sensations as they stood at the hospital door, waiting for 
the answer to their ring. He seemed to live over in 
those few minutes all the long, dreary stretch of years 
since the joyous sensations of his boyhood faded out 
when that memorable morning he saw his father march- 
ing away to the war, and the strange events that had 
lately transpired to dispel the cloud that hung over his 
life, seemed but fantastic dreams that would only increase 
his depression. It seemed hard to believe they were real, 
and as they struggled to impress themselves upon his com- 
prehension he felt very much as though he had awakened 
from a conglomerated mass of dreams, in which he 
scarcely knew what sensation to give way to. The wind 
howled dismally around the stately building that was one 


494 


HART Emerson’s reparation. 


of the objects of pride of the city, and its roar seemed 
to be full of voices that spoke to him in spasmodic 
strains out of the vista of dead years that so suddenly 
rushed from the back chamber of his memory. But the 
thought of how he would feel when he stood in the pres- 
ence of the man who had been the cause of all his troubles 
came to him before the summons to the door was ans- 
wered, and he nerved himself for the meeting which was 
about to take place. And the man had been shot and 
probably was dying. He who had wronged so many had 
at last been laid low by the very individual against whom 
every man’s hand was lifted, against whom even now 
many heads were plotting. All these thoughts rushed 
through Clayton’s mind like a whirlwind during the brief 
interval between the ringing and answering of the door- 
bell. 

A prim looking usher came at last and opening the 
door asked what was wanted. 

“We wish to see the man that was shot in the park 
last night,” answered Bill, for Clayton was endeavoring 
to shake off the spell that bound him and tone his feel- 
ings down for the meeting. 

“Walk in,” said the girl in the fine twang of the 
townspeople, and Clayton and Bill rushed up the steps 
with rather more haste than elegance. 

“What ward is the man in ^ asked Clayton. 

“No. two, please,” answered the girl. “This way, 


HART Emerson’s reparation. 


495 


please, ” and she opened a door leading from the entrance 
hallway to the right. 

‘ ‘ How is the man progressing inquired Clayton as 
they' followed the usher through the long passage way 
leading to ward two. 

“Ask the doctor, sir,” she replied tartly, without 
turning her head, and a moment more they stood at the 
door of ward number two. 

The girl opened the door and stood aside. Bill took 
a peep into the room and saw on the bed opposite the 
door a man over whom two of the physicians were bend- 
ing at the same time talking in low, muffled tones. 

“Here’s two gentlemen who want to see that man,’’ 
sang out the usher, and the doctors looked up, and after 
a brief second’s hesitation one of them answered : 

“Walk in, gentlemen; it may be that one of you is 
the man he’s been calling for.” 

“Be seated, please,” exclaimed the same speaker 
when they had entered. 

Both of them felt a little awkward in such a place as 
a matter of course, but they strove hard to master their 
feelings and give sensible replies to any questions that 
might be asked. 

“ Is he in much danger of dying asked Bill suddenly. 
Bill felt as though he wanted to get through with the 
business and get out, for he did not relish the sounds 
that came from the long string of cots that were filled 
with suffering humanity. 


496 


HART EMERSON’S REPARATION. 


The doctor that acted as spokesman shook his head. 
“ Not at present, ” he replied. “But he is in a critical 
condition and may give us a world of trouble to pull him 
through.” 

A low moan of pain from the wounded man attracted 
the attention of our two friends for the first time, and as 
the awkward sensations were beginning to wear ofi they 
cast a glance at the face of the man, and as they did so 
he opened his eyes and they fell upon Clayton and Bill. 
A sickening stench of blood and decaying flesh emitted 
from the cot, and they both turned their faces away as 
the dark eyes of Hart Emerson rested upon them for a 
moment. The ghastly pallor of his face, with those dark, 
ominous looking eyes resting therein was a sight which 
Clayton ever afterward vainly strove to eradicate from 
his memory. What a savage and wicked sensation came 
over him to gloat over the misery of this man, who 
wronged not on.ly himself but others as well. He who 
had been looked up to and revered as one of the leading 
citizens possessed a soul as black as Satan could paint it. 

But Bill, as we have stated, was in a hurry to get 
through and leave the place, for he felt like a bird that 
had been caged and longed to spread his wings and fly 
once more. For a moment he debated with himself as 
to whether it would be proper to ask any questions, and 
when he finally settled the matter in his mind he ex- 
claimed : 

“Doctor, is he in any shape to talk now.? We 


HART Emerson’s reparation. 


497 


have something to ask him that not only concerns us, but 
the welfare of the whole country.” 

The doctor looked very much surprised at this out- 
break on Bill’s part, and with his city bred ease he replied 
in the affirmative. 

Bill gave the wounded man a second glance and their 
eyes met, although Hart was instantly taken with an- 
other spasm and for a few seconds closed his eyes, utter- 
ing such heartrending moans that Clayton, knowing the 
wrong he had suffered at the man’s hands, actually felt a 
strong touch of pity for him. What were the odds any- 
how ? If this man had not wronged him some one else 
would, and now was it not his duty to forgive him ? Now 
was the time for Clayton’s teachings that had been in- 
stilled into him by his mother to be tested, and a great 
wave of compassion swept over him when the still, small 
and wonderfully mysterious voice whispered : 

“If ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will 
your Heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses.” 

Clayton’s eyes again sought the face of the ^wounded 
man, and there was a world of pity in his face as he did 
so. Hart’s face, although pallid and distorted with pain, 
now showed signs of recognition. The spasm of pain had 
passed, and the doctors administered another bracing 
potion at the whispered request of Hart, who also told 
them he wished to speak with the two visitors. Then, 
after the potion had taken effect. Hart beckoned to Clay- 
ton to come closer. 


498 


HART EMERSON’S REPARATION. 


Clayton obeyed, thinking Emerson was going to tell 
him what he already knew, and the two physicians 
moved back. One of them set the chair close to the 
bedside, exclaiming : 

“You will have to sit close to him if you want to 
understand what he says,” and Clayton sat down in the 
chair. 

Hart motioned to the physician who had acted as 
spokesman. The doctor came and bent over him and 
asked him what he wanted. 

“Leave the room please, you and the others please, ” 
exclaimed Hart in a weak voice. “But I may need you 
a little later. ” 

Clayton was at last left alone with the man that had 
been the foundation of his troubles, and his feelings can 
better be imagined than described. But he realized that 
it would be no time for letting his feelings run riot, and 
he began talking at once, as he thought perhaps the 
invalid would have a deal of trouble in commencing what 
he had to say. 

“Mr. Emerson, I regret seeing your sad condition.” 
he began, “but tell us the truth about it, won’t 5^011, 
please ? Was it not the man that is supposed to be the 
leader of the Fox Valley outlaws that assassinated you 

“That is a question I can’t answer, not knowing,” 
replied Emerson in a clear voice, as his eyes roved rest- 
lessly around the room. “I know who it was, but 


HART EMERSON’S REPARATION. 


499 


whether he deserves the appellation of the chief of that 
organization I don’t know.” 

“ Who was it then inquired Clayton in an anxious 
voice. “Was it not some of the family you were at war 
with back there in the Cumberlands 

Hart gave a start of surprise, and replied after a mo- 
ment’s hesitation : 

“Yes, it was Jack Marston that did it, but what do 
you know about it, Clayton Palliser 

“Ah, I have lately come into possession of some of 
your secrets, Mr. Emerson,” replied Clayton with an 
ironical ring to his voice which he was probably uncon- 
scious of. “Perhaps I know more about it than you do, 
Hart, but tell me truthfully, did you not know that your 
step brother was not the leader, and did you not know 
who it actually was 

The invalid stared hard at Clayton for a moment, and 
then replied in a mellow, subdued voice : 

“You know then what I have done to cloud your 
life, eh 

“I do, but I forgive you, Hart, now that death is 
staring you in the face,” replied Clayton. “I and others 
that are interested in these dark mysteries have at last 
dug them up, and now, while we are shocked and pained 
at the debasement of human nature, we are going to set 
things to rights.” 

The invalid remained silent and thoughtful for about 
a minute, staring in a vacant sort of way at the window, 


500 


MART EMERSON’S REPARATION. 


and Clayton still wondering absently in his mind whom 
Hart could have meant if it was not Elsie Britman. The 
ball had creased the left arm about three inches above 
the left elbow and passed dangerously near the heart. 
Hart explained the whole affair to Clayton in as few 
words as possible; how he had met Miss Britman there 
and her cold treatment of him, how the assassin had 
suddenly emerged from behind the tree and without a 
word of warning shot him. After that, he said, all was 
blank till he opened his eyes early that morning to find 
himself where he lay now, and the hospital staff around 
the cot in anxious whispered consultation. 

“But we have no time for discussing unnecessary 
topics now, Clayton,” he went on presently after a brief 
pause, while collecting his shattered mind for a concen- 
trated effort. 

“I told you it was my belief that I would not live 
long, perhaps not to see the light of another day. I 
want to restore to you the property that is rightfully 
yours. I could not face Jason Palliser, but I want you 
to set things to rights for me. Will you promise me to 
give him his share if I make it all over to you 

Clayton had been much agitated at the announce- 
ment of the meeting between the invalid and the girl he 
was beginning to love or already imagined he loved. 
What was her object in meeting Emerson there > Had 
she done it simply through compassion ? Or had she 
been holding out false hopes to him, even after her 


HART Emerson’s reparation. 501 

declaration that she would not do such a thing? Clay- 
ton had passed through so many trying ordeals he was 
beginning to school himself for emergencies of a strange 
character, for he told himself it was probable he would 
be no happier under the new order of things if he could 
not find some one that possessed a pure and innocent 
heart whom he could love. He was struggling now with 
the fear ot falsity on the part of the object of his affec- 
tions, whom he believed to be just what he had longed 
for. A woman with a pure heart and a mind with high 
ideals, in short a clever but innocent woman, whose sou 
was as beautiful as her face and form. His voice sounded 
hollow and distant as he answered : 

‘ ‘ I promise. ” 

“Then go, bring the necessary officials and we will 
proceed,” answered Hart, and Clayton, who was strug- 
gling manfully to concentrate his mind on the business 
at hand, answered rather abruptly : 

“But I want only what is rightfully mine. Hart — Mr. 
Emerson. I understand you were to pay over as dam- 
ages the sum of four thousand dollars along with the 
other — ,” catching himself in time to present it in a 
respectable manner. “I don’t know why you should 
want to restore more than we asked.” 

“Ah, you don’t know the whole particulars,” re- 
sponded Hart, again letting his gaze rest on the window, 
as though he believed it would be the last time he saw 
the light of day. 


502 


HART EMERSON’S REPARATION. 


“It was to save myself from the gallows that I took 
your father’s money, but there is no time for discussing 
that either. I only wanted to show you that I did not 
do it altogether through love of gain. I’ve been a base, 
wicked schemer, but I have a little humanity in me yet. 
It was all to secure possession of that fanciful allurement 
we call wealth and the gew gaws of the world, the flesh 
and the devil, that I bartered away my soul’s salvation. 
Better had I remained poor and plodded through life with 
a good conscience than to have done as I have done, but 
it seems as though it has been the curse of my family 
from time immemorial. I refer to the greedy lust for 
wealth which they all were determined to possess, no 
matter whether they obtained it by honest means or not. 
But I am the last of the Emerson’s. The others that 
were not killed in the vendetta with the Marston’s have 
all died in various manners, and perhaps it is a good 
thing. This country c^n get along without us, for the 
one idea of our family was* to obtain wealth, no matter 
how. The country can well spare me, Clayton, but it 
needs such men as you. Take the property that is right- 
fully yours, for the estate will just about cover it. In 
addition to that I took from Jason Palliser, there is two 
thousand dollars I made with your capital, and I have 
used enough of that to pay me for my trouble. Now, 
remember me not as an enemy but as a misguided man 
who has done like hundreds of others and refused to 


HART Emerson’s reparation. 


503 


listen to the warning voice of conscience. Go quickly 
now, or you may be too late.” 

Clayton rose and cast a last glance at the pallid face 
of Emerson, but not a word escaped him. How could 
he offer any condolence to this man that had shrouded so 
many years of his life in gloom and doubt and vexation, 
dragging himself and family down into the tortuoug 
depths of poverty, keeping his beloved parent in a living 
tomb, and they living near him all the time. So many 
strange sensations crowded in upon the comprehension 
of our hero as he passed out that he was scarcely con- 
scious of any resentment in his heart for the dying man, 
but nevertheless it was there. You may think it strange 
for Clayton, but if there was one class of people he 
detested above all others it were the people who sell 
their honor, their reputation, even their soul’s redemp- 
tion for wealth. All other sinners he could forgive, but 
nof them who are beastly enough to prize money above 
all else. 

When he reached the entrance door he was both 
pleased and surprised to meet John Britman. John, who 
was always on the lookout for strange coincidences, 
readily understood Clayton, who told him in as few words 
as possible what had transpired, and he straightway 
secured the necessary officials for Clayton. 

Hart Emerson felt that his life was fast ebbing when 
they returned, but the work was quickly done, and he sat 
up and signed it in a clear, legible hand. The lawyer 
handed it to Clayton, and Hart sank back on the bed in 


504 


HART EMERSON’S REPARATION. 


another spasm, uttering, such pitiful moans that it tore 
the hearts of all present, Clayton not excepted. The 
doctor told Clayton and the others that it would be better 
for the patient if they left the room, and all of them, 
realizing that they could be of no use there, were glad to 
escape. So they went out, the officials little dreaming 
they had witnessed the last act of a dark tragedy. 

John Britman invited Clayton and Bill to spend the 
day with him, and they consented, for Bill not being a 
bit coy was not averse of spending a day among the elite 
of the city, and Clayton was again longing to bask in the 
sunshiny presence of his pretty sweetheart. John frankly 
told Clayton that he wanted a more lengthy description, 
and Clayton promised to give it. So they pursued their 
way toward the Britman mansion, their thoughts keeping 
pace with their feet, Clayton and Bill anticipating a 
pleasant day. 





It required every grain of the PalHser grit to stand that long 
tortuous ride over the mountains. 


CHAPTER XXII. 

THE serpent’s LAST WRIGGLE. 

Charlie McKasson had often spoken to Jasie Palliser 
about his young brother Reuby- who he said was equally 
as fond of hunting as he, and far more skillful, as he had 
had more experience. This assertion naturally roused in 
the boy a keen desire to show Charlie that he was mis- 
taken and that the Palliser’s were a race of pioneers and 
born hunters that could hold their own with anybody. As 
a result the boy, who considered himself a pretty good 
substitute for a man, if not a real one, began to devise 
some way to meet the McKasson boy in a trial of their 
skill in woodcraft and hunting the larger game. The 
way was shortly opened to him. A party was forming to 
go to Fox Valley to help avert the threatened catastrophe, 
and Charlie and Bill, having the interests of the home 
community at heart, had joined it. Jasie discovered 
this and begged to be allowed to form one of the party. 

“Does your mother consent to it.?” asked Charlie. 

“No, I have not asked her,” said Jasie, who had 
been raised to tell the truth, but was never more tempted 
to lie than now. 

“Well, I don’t know about letting you go then,” 

(507) 


5o8 


THE serpent’s LAST WRIGGLE. 


replied Charlie, who was shoeing a horse at the shop. 
Two or three urchins stood around eyeing him. 

“Go and ask her, Jasie,” said one of the little boys. 

Jasie shook his head. “Wouldn’t be any use, ” he 
explained, but he looked toward the house as if he had 
a mind to try anyhow. 

“Yes she would too,” exclaimed the largest of the 
urchins, who was one of Jeff Carlton’s children. 

“Why, Dan.? How do you know she would .?” ques- 
tioned Jasie, brightening up. He knew the urchin was 
truthful, and if the information he gave was not true it 
was a misunderstanding on his part. 

“Because I heard her say so,” replied Dannie 
Carlton. 

“Then I’ll go and ask her,” said the boy, and off he 
sped to see whether the little fellow had misunderstood. 

The recent unfolding of the mysterious puzzling 
crimes had brought to the ranch house a number of girls 
and married women who desired to know more about 
them. Mrs. Palliser was among them. She had learned 
of her husband’s cruel treatment, and when she was 
informed of his whereabouts she expressed a desire that 
some of the family go to him. As Clayton was not at 
home, and Dick was not old enough to be trusted on 
such an important errand, there was no one but Jasie to 
go as a natural consequence, and so the urchin was not 
misinformed. Jasie was delighted when he found that 
his mother really wanted him to go and proud that he 


THE SERPENT S LAST WRIGGLE. 


509 


was to be the first of the family to see and talk with the 
lost one. Jasie really was beginning to discard his boyish 
ideas and assertions, and trying to form ideas which he 
thought were more manlike. His old boyish assertion 
about the identity of the Fox Valley bandit chief was 
forgotten amidst the aggregated collection of strange 
events of recent occurrence, and when he rode away 
from the Dalton ranch in company with the party, bound 
for the valley, he little dreamed that his boyish prognos- 
tication was to be realized in every detail. 

But the boy was not used to so much hard riding, 
and it required every grain of the Palliser grit to stand 
that long tortuous ride over the mountains. Often he 
felt so numb and sore that he reeled in his saddle, but 
the rough banter of his companions fired him with re- 
newed effort, and the wiry mountain steeds bore them on 
with resisting energy over the fifty mile stretch of rough 
mountain road which lay between the ranch and Hob- 
son’s Tavern. ■ It was but a day’s ride for them, and 
they knew there was no time to fool away if they reached 
the valley in time to take part in the expected sortie. 

The sun was setting in a flood of golden light, which 
indicated the near approach of a storm, and the old 
tavern lay basking in the weird light of that and the 
waxing moon when the party came in sight of the place 
and halted. 

Nick Alton turned his horse square across the road 
and pointed toward the tavern exclaiming : 


510 


THE serpent’s LAST WRIGGLE. 


“Look there what a crowd has assembled, boys. I 
wonder what has happened.” 

The others did look and saw a boisterous, hustling 
crowd in the road in front of the tavern. 

“It’s a sale, maybe,” suggested Charlie McKasson. 

“The best way to find out is to go and see,” saki 
Nick abruptly, as he wheeled his horse and signalled for 
the others to follow. 

The party consisted of Nick and Tom Alton, Charlie 
McKasson, Bill Thornton, Jeff Carlton, Alex Dalton, 
Andy Garnett, Dan Ferguson, and two young men of the 
neighborhood who, likejasie, were athirst for adventure. 

It did not require any great length of time to cover 
the distance between there and the tavern, although the 
horses were beginning to flag, and the party soon halted 
in front of the tavern, and when they did so they soon 
learned what the assemblage meant. 

Jason Palliser came toward them to explain. As 
Tom and Nick were both absent, the command of the 
regulators had of course devolved upon him, and they 
saw by the expression of his countenance that some- 
thing had happened and that the probability was that 
they had come too late. 

Tom had discovered the close proximity of the boy 
to him and addressed him with this question when he 
saw Palliser approaching : 

“Do you know that man, Jasie?” 


THE serpent’s LAST WRIGGLE. 


5II 


It was evident he did, for at sight of his father the 
boy’s stiffened limbs and benumbed senses were suddenly 
inoculated with new life. He made no reply to Tom’s 
question, but slid off of his horse and ran toward his 
father in a dazed state of gladness. His parent saw him 
and stopped. In a moment father and son were clasped 
in each other’s arms uttering joyful, excited remarks and 
interrogations, while those who knew their story looked 
on in joyful silence. 

But Jason had to make his report to his superior, 
and while he did so Charlie sought out his brother and 
introduced the two young Nimrods in a careless fashion, 
knowing that they would not be long in getting acquainted. 
Then he hustled around in the crowd trying to learn 
what had happened. 

Great excitement prevailed. When they learned what 
had transpired they knew they had come too late to take 
part in the conflict which everybody expected would be 
the final one, and decide whether the law abiding or law 
defying element ruled. 

The preceding night Palliser had mustered his men 
and attacked the marauders congregated at Ben Harper’s 
at a big dance.' Bloody work ensued, but the regulators 
escaped with only one man killed and three wounded, one 
slightly, two seriously. They had waited till there was 
a large group of them out of doors and then opened fire 
on them. A number of them was killed and a number 
wounded, the balance of the assembled freebooters had 


512 


THE serpent’s LAST WRIGGLE. 


fled up the rocky slope behind the cabin, and the regu- 
lators advanced on the cabin to find it empty. 

One of the regulators who was describing it to Charlie 
said, between outbursts of laughter: “And I’ll bet 
everything I’ve got they’re runnin’ yit, if they ain’t tum- 
bled off of some bluff and killed themselves.” 

“ Did you get Ben asked Charlie. 

“No, we didn’t,” replied the regulator. “I don’t 
believe he’ll ever show up in these parts enny more, and 
I for one will be glad of it for Bess’ and Bill’s sake. ” 

“That’s the way I feel about it too,” replied Charlie. 
“Bill has got a chance to get a start now, and if the 
Lord answers the prayer of this sinner he’ll crown him 
and Bess with his richest blessings.” 

“ Do you think Bill will get the reward for the sachem 
of the freebooters .”’ asked the regulator. 

“Don’t know. He failed to bag him at Springfield, 
and I think he has about given it up.” 

The regulator was silent and thoughtful for a moment 
and then said : “It would be jist like the ole cuss to go 
and commit suicide or be killed by some of his men, or 
get shot for a deer, or more likely a black bear from the 
description I’ve heard of him.” 

The force, which had been greatly swelled by the 
O. H.’s had just returned from burying the dead, a scene 
that perhaps the reader is tired of, so we will not 
describe it. 

The concourse dispersed about dark and none re- 


THE serpent’s LAST WRIGGLE. 


513 


mained at the tavern except the men from far off regions. 
Nothing more remained to be done except to capture the 
mysterious leader of the bandit cabal which was to be an 
event of something like a fox chase by the programme 
outlined, and the cruel zest the mountaineers manifested 
in it. 

About nme o’clock the next morning the sky was sud- 
denly overcast with a smooth rainy cloud, and the rain 
began to descend in torrents. There were men there 
who hoped to be the lucky one to capture the noted out- 
law, believing that fame and fortune would be theirs, and 
the rain caused some of them great anxiety. They 
thought perhaps it would enable the chief to get out of 
the community and put a great distance between himself 
and his pursuers. They knew he was in the community 
and believed him at Calvin’s, where he was wont to hide 
and recuperate after returning from an expedition, and 
the news brought from Springfield by Bill Thornton had 
revealed his identity, and they understood now that he 
was a bloodthirsty member of a Kentucky feudal clan 
and had come into the region to hunt down and slay the 
remnant of his enemies. 

Perhaps he would now leave the region, as the last 
member of the opposing clan had gone down by his 
‘avenging bullet. 

All day long the rain descended in blinding torrents, 
the wind had risen in a strong spasmodic gale and dashed 
the descending rain against the windows of the old tavern, 


SH 


THE serpent’s LAST WRIGGLE. 


rattling the sashes and shaking the old building from 
cellar to garret. The limbs of the trees in the surround- 
ing forest were ruthlessly torn from the trunks, and the 
crash of their falling could be distinctly heard by the 
inmates above the roar of the tempest. A dismal day 
to the active, mettlesome mountaineers who were used 
to outdoor pursuits and chafed at their confinement to 
the house, aswell'as their inability to go in pursuit of the 
robber chief. But while they were undergoing all this 
restraint they did not know that the object of their 
thoughts was preparing to depart the country and sur- 
render his title of grand sachem of the freebooters. 





As Jack fired his horse shied at the dogs 


CHAPTER XXIII. 


A SELF-APPOINTED DETECTIVE. 

Next moming the sun rose up out of its Eastern bed, 
and finding the way clear began to send forth its life- 
giving rays once more, driving the dampness out of the 
air and drying up the roads and fields. The assembled 
guests, when they had dispatched their breakfast, sallied 
forth and formed into a group in the road, talked and 
debated about the intended expedition, and wondered 
whether it would be successful, wondered if it would 
transpire at all. The cool, bracing, ozonic air made 
them feel as though they would welcome most any kind 
of an expedition now that would give them ample 
exercise. This sort of excitement was the life of a great 
many, and there were no doubt some of them that were 
actually sorry the warfare had terminated, and like Alex- 
ander the Great wanted more worlds to conquer. 

The sun ascended higher and higher above the rugged 
mountain landscape, and the higher it got the warmer its 
rays became until at last it seemed to have made amends 
for the conduct of wind and rain in drying the earth, 
expelling the damp haze and warming the air up to its 
regular temperature. By two o’clock nothing was left to 

(517) 


5i8 


A SELF-APPOINTED DETECTIVE. 


indicate the storm s passage but the fallen limbs in the 
forest around. 

None of the stranglers had appeared yet when noon 
came, but shortly after dinner they began to pour in in 
a steady stream, in eager anticipation of the sport. 
Their faces wore a hilarious, triumphant expression, they 
laughed and joked about the intended expedition as 
though they were going to a horse race or on a fox hunt. 

Jasie Palliser had been invited to spend the night at 
the McKasson home, and his father had urged him to do 
so, as he himself would be busy for awhile. Then he 
said they would go home and be happy together once 
more. The McKasson boy told him they would take a 
round trip the next day, but the rain prevented it. But 
the following day was an excellent day for large game, 
and the two lads sallied forth bright and early, little 
dreaming of the tragedy that would transpire before they 
returned. 

Three o’clock came, and with it an increase of the 
concourse at the tavern. But while a few of them were 
anxious to go in pursuit of the game, and believed it still 
in the neighborhood, the majority, knowing what they 
did, now believed the noted individual having fulfilled 
his mission of revenge would skip the country. They 
knew that it was useless to interview Pete Calvin on the 
subject, but they felt confident that as soon as the chief 
was out of danger he would come out of his seclusion 
and explain matters. 


A SELF-APPOINTED DETECTIVE:. 


519 


While they were thus speculating on the subject some 
of them who happened to be looking that way saw a man 
riding slowly up the road from the East. 

The keen-sighted mountaineers required no second 
glance to tell he was not one of their number — not one 
of the regulators who were conspiring for the downfall 
of the chief of the Fox Valley outlaws. The man was 
not over eighty yards off, and they could tell what sort 
of a looking man he was and tell from the expression of 
his countenance what his mission was there. 

“ It’s Calvin, ” said Nick, with an eager, apprehen- 
sive look. 

“So it is,” said Reub McKasson. “Wonder what’s 
up now 

A wild orgie of speculating ejaculations ensued, which 
subsided into a subdued undertone of low spoken guesses 
as the man drew nigh. He rode up and motioned to 
Tom Alton to come to him. 

Tom obeyed with alacrity, wondering what was the 
matter, wondering if Calvin was going to reveal another 
startling piece of news. 

Calvin was a man with a large, awkward, bony frame, 
but straight as an ^irrow, and his features were rugged, 
what could be seen of them for his big yellow whiskers. 
His nose was large and red like a whiskey bloke’s, his 
eyes were a small, keen gray, with a pathetic expression 
in them, and altogether he looked like a man who had 
seen a world of trouble. He was dressed in a gray 


520 


A SELF-APPOINTED DETECTIVE. 


homespun suit and red flannel shirt, with heavy cowhide 
boots, and a cap that looked like an old family heirloom 
surmounted his bushy head. Yet for all his uncouth 
appearance he looked like a man with a reserve force of 
mental power and a rugged adherence to principle. A 
man like Clayton Palliser would have taken him for a 
martyr who had suffered for the truth’s sake. 

Nick was first 'to speak. “Hello, Pete,” he said good 
naturedly as he came up. “What’s the matter now.? I 
thought groundhog day was in February instead of 
November.” 

Calvin’s face lit up with sudden, humorous enthusiasm. 
“But the groundhog doesn’t hole up till cold weather, 
Nick, not any more than the blacksnake.” 

This was said with a significant look, which caused a 
roar of applauding laughter from the crowd as well as 
Nick. Nick’s long, lithe body certainly did resemble a 
snake more than any other member of the animal king- 
dom. 

“I’ve come to tell you that the chief of the Fox 
Valley outlaws is.no more, Nick,” exclaimed Calvin as 
he released Nick’s hand after shaking with him. 

“The devil you say,” ejaculated Nick. “How did 
that happen .?” 

“Got killed for a deer,” replied Calvin with the half 
humorous expression still lingering on his countenance. 

“Got killed for a deer,” reiterated Nick, a sudden 
light beaming on his face. He had been struck with the 


A SELF-At^POlNTED DETECTIVE. 


521 


idea that it had been the two young Nimrods we are 
interested in who had made the mistake. 

“Yes, he’s dead,” explained Calvin in about the same 
tone he would assume if he had been telling them about 
the death of some mountain buck the settlers had been 
trying to kill for a long period. 

Nick motioned for the others to come up if they 
wanted to, and when they all clustered around the man 
he explained the incident to them in his slow spasmodic 
way. 

When they realized that all was over now they pressed 
Calvin to tell them the history of the great Kentucky 
feud from beginning to end. He told them as there was 
nothing in the way of it he would do so. 

“All right, Pete, let us go into the house and get 
comfortable seats,” said Nick. “Then you can tell us 
the points of the case we don’t know.” 

“Uncle Rack, who was among the crowd, acquiesced 
to this, and was wild with apprehension. 

A few minutes later they were all seated in the large, 
roomy reception room ready to listen ta Calvin’s story. 

“The first thing I will have to mention,” said Calvin 
as he gave a sweeping glance at his audience, “is that I 
was arrested and tried several years ago for burning a- 
settler’s buildings over on Swan Creek. If it had not 
been for the interference of a certain man who is now in 
this audience I would have had to go to jail. 

A steady, incredulous stare, and a furtive exchange 


522 


A SELF-APPOINTED DETECTIVE. 


of questioning glances followed this announcement, but 
Calvin appeared not to notice it and continued : 

“But I was fortunate enough to prove my innocence 
of the crime, and when I was free once more from the 
clutches of the law I resolved from that day on to appoint 
myself a detective to ferret out these mysterious crimes 
and fasten them on the true perpetrator. But I knew it 
would be a great while yet before any of them could be 
convicted because there were numberless unscrupulous 
persons ready to swear a lie for a financial considera- 
tion.” 

Cries of , ‘ Right ! Right ! You are right !” 

“So I just wrote them down and stuck them away, 
for future use. Now, then, there is another man in this 
audience who was in the same business as I was, and a 
short time ago I found out he was working on a case I 
had already cinched.” 

Reub McKasson rose and asked : “Shall I tell them 
now, Pete 

“Yes, you may, and all of you can ask all the ques- 
tions you like, and he will tell you all he knows, so as to 
let me have an occasional pause for breath, ” returned 
Calvin. 

“Then brothers,” said Reub, turning and facing the 
audience, ‘ ‘ it was Pete gave me the information I wanted, 
and he also told me something else. ” 

“What was it from Nick, who motioned the others 
to keep silent and let him act as spokesman. 


A SELF-APPOINTED DETECTIVE. 


523 


“We hung the perpetrator of the crime that Pete 
Calvin was tried for when we hung Milt Harper.” 

A chorus of excited ejaculations greeted this, and 
Reub, having said his say, resumed his seat. 

“I wonder how a man like him could have stayed 
sane,” he remarked as he settled himself in his seat. 

Calvin went on ; “Now, then, in order to give you 
an insight into the character of another case I have been 
working on I will first have to recite the story of the 
great Kentucky feud.” 

A pin could have been heard fall so intense was the 
silence. 

“The starting point of that memorable struggle was 
the killing of Dodd Emerson by a Marston, who went by 
the name of Jack, but whose real name was in full 
Thomas Alton Marston. Jack was only a nickname. 
This same man was a descendant, an Alton, just as the 
Tom Alton who was killed in the battle of Pea Ridge 
was.” 

“And was he sure enough killed.?” asked a dozen 
voices. 

“He can best answer that question himself,” replied 
Calvin, assuming the grim humorous expression again. 

Tom was on his feet in an instant and explained .as 
briefly as possible the same story he had told to others. 
Another death like silence ensued: It was too much for 
them to grasp all at once. 

‘‘Thus you see,” resumed Calvin, “that while Tom 


524 


ASELF-APPOINTED DETECTIVE. 


Alton was abroad enjoying himself, Jack Marston, who 
had served out his term in the Kentucky state prison, 
had come into this region in search of the remnant of 
the opposing clan. He assumed the name of Tom Alton 
and was known by no other name. He turned up at my 
house unexpectedly one day, and as I had married his 
sister, Dodd Emerson’s widow, I offered him the shelter of 
my home. I don’t know but what Dora, that is my wife, 
could have persuaded him out of the notion of finishing 
the Emerson’s if it had not been that he ran across one 
of them down near the state line at a horse race, and as 
the Emerson was to defiant too suit him he shot him 
dead. For this he had to keep dark for awhile. He 
stayed here for a time and then went away one day, and 
I thought he would never come back. He said he had 
nothing to live for, only revenge, and that he was going 
to wipe the last Emerson off the face of the earth. His 
wife had married again, and he seemed to think I and 
Dora were the only two of his relatives who had not for- 
saken him. But one day he suddenly turned up again 
and told us that there was one less Emerson in the world 
than there had been when he went away. 

Now then, my friends, in order that you may under- 
stand another incident connected with this one I have 
mentioned, I will go back and relate the adventure of 
another m.in \\h > is one of this audience. This man 
came into this region shortly after Jack, looking for a 
location, and one day he landed up at the old Alton 


$ 


A SELF-APPOINTED DETECTIVE. 525 

plantation, on a little creek near the James, and the 
childhood’s home of Tom Alton. The place was then 
owned by Tom Alton’s step brother, as his mother had 
threatened to disinherit him if he did not relinquish his 
political views, and had carried out her threat by leaving 
the property to Hart Emerson, who was her stepson and 
the nephew of Dodd Emerson. Hart was very reckless, 
and like all easy going people who get a fortune in an 
easy way he soon spent what money he had, and when 
he was arrested for the murder of his sweetheart he was 
in a bad financial shape. The man who was looking for 
a location was spotted by Hart, and he knew he must 
have a large sum on his person. But Hart was averse 
to murder, and was trying to invent some easy plan of 
getting the man out of the way and securing his money.” 

“And that man is the one who is the second lieuten- 
ant of the stranglers, is he not.?” asked Reub McKasson. 

“I have been suspicious of that for some time, and 
when I saw his boy meet with him the other day I was 
sure of it. ” 

Palliser rose when Reub seated himself. 

‘ ‘ Gentlemen ,” he said, looking around the assemblage, 
“I am Jason Palliser, the man whom Hart Emerson so 
cruelly imprisoned in a little stone cabin that was the 
pioneer residence of the Alton’s who settled the place. I 
remained there till a short time ago, when the man who 
was suppos-ed to be the leader of these desperate outlaws 
sought the cabin for some reason, found me there ^nd 


526 


A SELF-APPOINTED DETECTIVE. 


released me. I swore that I would not seek iny family 
till I recovered the money, and I have kept my word. I 
have enjoyed this outing of adventure well, for that was 
my object in seeking a home in the West. I was opposed 
by my wife in the project, but overruled her, and came 
in here seeking for a good location. But I think our 
friend Calvin can tell you the rest better than I can, so 
I will sit down.” 

Like the audience at the Pentacostal sermon, the 
assemblage was spellbound with wonder. Calvin paused 
a short time before beginning again, and then continued. 

“One night while Jason Palliser was there Boyd 
Emerson was returning from town, and when he arrived 
at a certain point on the mountain side, an old cabin 
site just on top of a bench above the house, he saw a 
man riding up the hill in the opposite direction. He 
suspected nothing till the man had approached him, and 
then, as the moon was shining brightly, Boyd recognized 
Jack Marston as the intruder, and his hand suddenly 
clutched at his pistol butt. Jack also recognized him 
and both of them stopped. No word was spoken, but 
they glared their hatred of each other in a deadly silence. 
But Jack was determined and drew his pistol, and Boyd 
did likewise. But for a lucky incident Jack would no 
doubt have gone under too, when they fired, for even if 
Boyd had been shaking with fear he could hardly have 
missed at that short distance. They fired simultaneously, 
but at that instant a dog came trotting swiftly down the 


A SELF-APPOINTED DETECTIVE. 


527 


road, and as Jack fired his horse shied at the dog, and 
while Boyd was hit hard Jack escaped with a hole through 
his hat rim. Boyd was gritty, and reeling in his saddle 
tried to fire again, but Jack spurred his horse up, and, 
knocking the pistol from Boyd’s hand, he put a hole 
through his head and Boyd fell off his horse and lay like 
a log. 

While all this was going on, Hart was lying in bed 
awake at the house, trying to invent some way to get 
Palliser’s money and yet secure himself from danger. He 
heard the firing and rose hastily and donned his clothes. 
Then he went out softly and up the hill, looking cautious- 
ly at each side of the road as he went. He came to the 
top at last and found Boyd lying in a ghastly pool of 
blood, and when he was satisfied he was beyond aid he 
knew he would have to guess who killed him. 

The truth of the matter was Boyd and Hart were the 
chief witnesses against Jack when he had his trial, and 
I verily believe they swore lies against him, believing he 
was just tiger enough to slay the last one of them if they 
didn't get him out of the way. As I said, the trouble 
started over the killing of Dodd, but I did not mention 
the fact that it was Dodd’s mistreatment of Dora that 
caused Jack to kill him. He told him if he did not stop 
it and reform he would kill him just like he would a mad 
dog. But Jack had a strong case of self defense, and I 
believe he would have pulled through if Boyd and Hart 
had not sworn falsely against him. This was the real 


528 


A SELF-APPOINTED DETECTIVE. 


cause of the trouble between tlie two warlike clans, and 
the result was another one of those terrible feuds that 
occur back in that part of the country. Long, bloody, 
and furious was the war, and every one knew the Emer- 
son’s, to escape entire annihilation, would have to leave 
the country. They were a selfish, cruel set, and no one 
cared much if they were all wiped out. The result was 
the remnant of them scattered out over these mountains 
and fell at the hands of my brother-in-law. 

But to resume what I was talking about before. Hart 
had been studying hard for a plan, but had not struck 
any that suited him till he arrived on the scene and saw 
his father lying dead. He bent over him a moment, but 
I can’t say whether he was convulsed with grief or not. 
Doubtless he -was not, when the devil suggested the plan 
which he put into operation at once. Boyd was dead 
and he would use him to good purpose — I guess he 
thought to save his own neck. He would entice Palliser 
into the little stone hut and drug him, rob him and then 
shut him up. But before that he must bury the body in 
some secluded spot where it would not be discovered, 
and then he v/ould create the impression that Boyd had 
become violently insane so as to prevent anybody from 
prying around the hut where his prisoner was confined. 
He went back to the house, and securing some plank 
with the necessary nails and a hatchet, he constructed a 
rude coffin. Then he carried it up the hill and enclosed 
the body in it, and hiding it in the thicket he sought a 


A SELF-APPOINTED DETECTIVE. 


529 


place which he thought would be safe, and then he 
dragged the coffin and its contents to it. By chicken 
crow he had • finished the task of interment and went 
back to the house, taking care to eliminate aU signs of 
the night’s work. 

Next morning he enticed Palliser into the little hut, 
gave him some drugged whiskey to drink and then when 
he had lost his senses he robbed him and shut him up.” 

“'And was Milt Harper under Hart’s influence asked 
Alex. Dalton. 

“He was,” replied Calvin emphatically. “It was he 
who hired Milt to burn Jeff Carlton’s buildings, thinking 
by that it would result either in the capture and execu- 
tion of the chief of this fierce band or his decease at 
Carlton’s hands. 

“ But what grudge did he have against him asked 
Jeff Carlton. 

“He believed that it was either Jack or his step 
brother that was the leader and the murderer of Boyd, 
but was not sure which one. He believed, though, that 
either of them was his enemy, and sought to get him 
out of the way.” 

“Now then, Calvin, since you seem to know every- 
thing, can you tell us what the errand of Bob Willis and 
Manton Brightwood was at the exhumation of the old 
Alton hoard the other night 

“I can. It was to dig up the hoard and run off with 

it and divide it.” 


530 


A SELF-APPOINTED DETECTIVE. 


“But what made Manton run away so sudden.” 

“Well, Mant isn’t no fool,” replied Pete with a 
humorous twinkle. “He could tell the difference in the 
report of Jack Dalton’s forty-five and Bob’s thirty-two, 
and when he heard Bob screech he thought it was time 
to be gone.” 

A moment’s silence then ensued, which was broken 
by Nick rising and saying : 

“And now, Calvin, if you are through don’t you 
think we’d better attend to the burying of your brother- 
in-law 

“The burying of my brother-in-law.?” reiterated 
Calvin. “Why, his folks were here on a visit and left 
just as I started, taking the body along with them.” 

And now, dear reader, we have finished our narrative 
and will only say as a parting that there was a grand 
wedding at the old Alton place on Christmas day, in 
which four happy couples were united in the bonds of 
wedlock. First, the host, Tom Alton and Emily Nash, 
then Clayton Palliser and the beautiful Elsie Britman. 
Andy Garnett and Lottie West then followed, after 
which Bill Thornton and Bessie Harper were married, 
and truly happy at the success of the plan they had in- 
augurated for the downfall of the lawless cabal. But 
when Tom offered Bill the loan of enough of the exhumed 
hoard to buy him a snug little farm they were made still 
happier by the generosity of the owner of the Pioneer’s 
Hoard. 



The Tlard-of -Hearing ” Speechless Children 
in our Schools for the Deaf. 


* Paper Read by R. S. Rhodes, of Chi- 
cago, AT THE Fourteenth Convention of 
Americ^xN Teachers of the Deaf, at 
Flint, Michigan. 


“In what manner can we best serve the interests of 
those pupils in our institutions, who have a good degree 
of hearing.'*” I find this question asked in the reports of 
the superintendent of one of our large institutions, issued 
June 30, 1894. I also find in this report a statement 
I hat of “384 children whose hearing was accurately 
tested, 60 had a record of hearing varying in degrees up 
to ten per cent.; 35 a record varying between ten and 
twenty per cent. ; 47 between twenty and thirty per 
cent.; 18 between thirty and forty per cent.; 7 between 
forty and fifty per cent.; and 16 of fifty per cent, and 
over” — in all, 183, or nearly fifty per cent, of all chil- 
dren tested, are not totally deaf, but are simply hard-of- 
hearing people. 

In 1879, I visited many schools for the deaf in this 
country, and tested the hearing of many deaf children, 
and in 1880, I visited many institutions and schools in 
Europe, and have made accurate tests of the hearing of 
Uie deaf children wherever I have been; and I find that 


THE AUDIPHONE. 


forty per cent, of the children in the in&ticutions and 
schools throughout the world possess ten per cent, and 
over of hearing, and are capable of being educated 
to speak through the sense of hearing with mechanical 
aid. This being the case, and this question being asked 
by the superintendents of several of our institutions, 
showing a willingness on the part of the superintendents 
of these institutions to utilize this hearing and teach 
aurally to speak, well, then, may this convention pause 
to consider this question, affecting the interests of half of 
the children in the institutions represented by you gentle- 
men present. And let me say that it not only affects 
the interests of those children in these schools at the 
present day, but will affect the interests of those in all 
time to come, not only in this country, but other 
countries throughout the world. Most of you have up to 
the present time ignored the fact that these children 
could hear, and have treated them as totally deaf chil- 
dren, and they have been graduated as such, and in most 
institutions in the world to-day are being graduated as 
such. Well, I say, may we consider “in what manner 
we can best serve the interests of those children who 
have a good degree of hearing,” and well may this con- 
vention give much of its time to this important question, 
and let us answer wisely. God has bestowed upon half 
the children whose welfare is in your charge ten per 
cent, and over of nature’s own means of lea];;n- 
ing to speak. This being known, shall we longer 
ignore the fact.? We see adults on every hand, more 
deaf than many of the children in your schools, using 


HEARING THROUGH THE TEETH. 


mechanical aids to hearing, and enjoying the use of thevf 
own voices, and understanding others well. What they 
can do with mechanical aids, you can teach these chil- 
dren, with an equal degree of hearing, to do. Forty per 
cent, of the children in your schools hear better than I 
can. My degree of hearing in the left ear is about seven 
per cent. , and nothing in the right, and I can hear with 
the audiphone, at conversational distances, almost per- 
fectly, and can hear my own voice, when speaking 
against it, quite perfectly. You will allow that if the 
ileaf can hear others and can hear themselves, there is no 
leason why they cannot be educated aurally, if they have 
mental capacity. No, there is no reason why they cannot^ 
but there is a reason, and a potent reason, why they are 
not, and that reason lies with you, the teachers of the 
deaf. But you cannot be wholly blamed for this, be- 
cause I allow that even with this instrument which I 
carry, you, with perfect hearing, find no improvement. 
But those with imperfect hearing will find great improve- 
ment. You hand the instrument to one who has never 
enjoyed the benefit of hearing, in learning articulation, 
and you find he answers you that he can hear but little, and 
you use his judgment and say that he cannot hear suffi- 
ciently with it to learn to speak, when you should know 
that they who have never learned to speak know nothing 
of the value of sound, and are perfectly ignorant as to 
how well they should hear to enable them to learn. You 
know you are succeeding in some degree in teaching them 
to speak when they hear nothing; if, then, they may by 
any means acquire simply the vowel sounds of our lan- 
guage, by hearing them, what a great advantage would 
this be to them ia learaiag to speak! And 1 assert that 


THE AUDIPHOME. 

where a person enjoys one per cent, only of natural 
hearing, this instrument will improve his hearing to a 
degree that will enable him to acquire a knowledge 
aurally of the vowel sounds, and thus enable you to teach 
him to speak. Sixteen years ago when I visited the in- 
stitutions in this country and Europe, for the purpose oi 
urging that the hearing be appealed to, and carried with 
me this device, and selected classes that could hear, and 
freely presented this instrument for their use, every child 
was being instructed as though it were totally deaf, and 
in some instances I was told that a slight degree of hear- 
ing rendered a child more difficult to teach by “our” 
method. . That may be very true, for some of these chil- 
dren possessed twenty or thirty or even fifty per cent, 
of hearing, and I should suppose that it would be natural 
for them in such cases to be at first inclined to listen, 
and it would be some trouble to overcome this inclina- 
tion. As for me, I believe that ten per cent, of nature’s 
means, ten per cent, of natural hearing power, is worth 
more in learning valuable speech than one hundred per 
cent, of substituted methods. I could teach to speak 
two languages to a bright student, with ten per cent, of 
hearing, before you could teach him to speak one with all 
methods ever used, without the hearing. Yes, ten per 
cent, of a sense that God has endowed us with is too 
valuable to throw away, and we have no right to ignore 
even one per cent. , when we have a device which will 
improve it and make it valuable to us, as in this sense of 
hearing we certainly have. I am sure the audiphone will 
improve thirty per cent., and bring one per cent, within 
the scope of the human voice, and valuable speech may 
btt taught. With th^ audiphone one may speak ta 


^ARXN« THROUGH THE TBETW. 

V dozen or two dozen, or three dozen, at one time; 
a.id the sounds that reach the listener with the 
audiphone, according to my judgment, are far more 
natural than those reaching the listener by any other 
instrument. Music itself is perfectly enjoyed with the 
audiphone, whereas, there is no other instrument that 
will reveal the harmonies of music in their perfection, 
’md therefore, I say, it is the preferable instrument for 
teaching, but it is not the only instrument. 

Each child carries an instrument of value, which I be- 
lieve has never before been spoken of qr used, and which 
i would like to explain to this convention. You may 
.simply allow a deaf child to close his teeth firmly; this 
brings the upper jaw in tension, and when his teeth are 
firmly closed, he may speak and hear his own voice 
more distinctly. You will not hear him so well, but he 
fvdll hear himself better, and he may study in this 
manner, with his teeth firmly pressed together, until he 
can acquire the knowledge of every sound in the 
English language, and one must be exceedingly deaf- — I 
would say totally deaf — if he cannot hear himself speak 
with his teeth firmly closed together. Now, you gentle- 
men of perfect hearing may try this; you will find it 
gives you no results, but do not decide at once that what 
X have said is not true. Let those who are deaf try it, 
and they will find that they can hear. Thus, the deaf 
have some advantages; it requires a deaf person to hear 
through his teeth. This may be one reason why some 
teachers decide that the audiphone is not of value to the 
<ieaf, simply because they of perfect hearing cannot hear 
with it. With the double audiphone you speak between 
( he discs, and you get back to yourself the double power 


/"THE AUDIPHONB*^ , 

of your voice—that is, the deaf will get it back. On« 
with perfect hearing will see no results, because the 
same result will be attained through the natural organ 
first, but one with defective hearing will receive the 
results. I would place the audiphone in the hands of 
each child with any degree of hearing remaining, and 
have him study his own voice at his seat, while speaking 
against it. He would have to study aloud, as it is his 
voice we wish to cultivate. It is more important that 
the child should hear himself speak than that it should 
hear others, and when the child comes to recite, its 
articulation of mispronounced words may be corrected. 
Very slow progress would be made if it was required to 
speak aloud only at recitations, and very hard work on 
the part of the teacher could be avoided by having the 
child study the sounds it produced at its seat, and while 
studying its lesson. I would advise that where many 
are being taught, the class should pass into a quiet recita- 
tion-room. It has been my experience in institutions I 
have visited that I have been able to teach classes of a 
dozen children to speak plainly thirty to one hundred 
words in two or three days, whether they have received 
previous instruction in articulation or not, and at this rate 
it would require but a very short time to give them a 
vocabulary that would be of practical value to them. I 
have, however, selected those possessing the most hear- 
ing, and that would be faster than the average could be 
taught; but all intelligent children, with five per cent, of 
hearing can be taught as valuable speech as I possess. 
My articulation may be defective, but I think you have 
been able to understand what I have said, and, poor as 
it is, I would not part with it for all the possessions any 


MBARING THROUGH THS TWTil* 


one of you may have. And here, gentlemen, you are 
depriving half of the children in the institutions that you 
teach of an articulation that might be as valuable to 
them as mine is to me, or as yours is to you. 

I have known institutions where the teachers them- 
selves have used this audiphone, and have taught chil- 
dren who could hear naturally better than themselves, 
and did not allow them to use it. By what line of rea- 
soning they can justify this I do not know; or why they 
should deprive the innocent child of the blessings they 
appropriate to themselves. And these poor children, 
ignorant of the value of the slight degree of hearing God 
has conferred upon them, are sent to the schools for the 
deaf for instruction, and thousands are being sent forth 
from these institutions ignorant still of the great value 
the hearing they have would have been to them had it 
been utilized in teaching them to speak. Teachers, will 
you continue to do this.? Will you continue to graduate 
this large class of hard-of-hearing children as children 
perfectly deaf.? If you do, you commit a grievous offense 
a ad an offense which will not be forgotten or forgiven. 
'Vou will deprive fifty per cent, of the afflicted children 
given to your care of valuable speech and an education 
to articulate sounds. You deprive them ot the enjoy- 
ment of God’s most valuable gifts, speech and hearing. 
You in a great measure deprive them of the means of 
making a livelihood. The hard-of-hearing, speaking 
person will succeed well in most callings. The responsi- 
bility for the present rests with you; in the future this 
will all be done. Are you prepared to say, “ We will 
not do it; we will leave it to the future; we will continue 
In our old methods,” or will you rise equal to the occa- 


THE AUDIPHONE. 


Sion and deserve the blessings of future generations? As 
for me, I would rather be the inventor of this little device 
)[ hold in my hands, and the author of these few words I 
have addressed to you, knowing them to be true, and 
leel the satisfaction I feel in having devoted the past six- 
teen years of my life to this cause, than to be the in- 
ventor of any device that merely serves commercial pur- 
poses. Commerce may be benefited in a thousand ways, 
whereas an affliction may be alleviated in but few. 


A Vote of Thanks* 


On motion it was 

Resolved, That the thanks of this convention are due 
to Mr. R. S. Rhodes for his valuable paper. 


Directions for Using the Audiphone, and for 
Teaching the Deaf to Speak. 


Since no amount of use will improve the sense of hear- 
ing, it is essential that one learning to speak should im- 
prove it mechanically at once, and be provided at alll 
times with a device for the improvement of this sense^ 
and never fail to use it when there is a sound to be heard, 
as it is the perceptions of the deaf which will be improved 
by practice and not the sense of hearing; sounds con^ 
veyed must be distinct to enable them to do this readily. 

Teaching to Hear. 

I have noticed in the reports of several institutions, 
“ Teaching to Hear.” We hear with our sense; we per- 
ceive with our understanding. We cannot bestow a 
sense, but we may improve our understanding. We can- 
not teach a sense; we cannot teach to hear. But, hear 
ing, we may teach to understand; we may teach through 
our senses. The sense of hearing existing, it may be 
appealed to to improve the mind or understanding. It 
may be improved mechanically to enable us the more 
readily to do this. But no amount of use will improve 
the sense of hearing or any other sense we possess. My 
own sense of hearing is about seven per cent, poorer now 


TItE AUBI^PHONE. 


than it was fifteen years ago, but my ability to under 
stand is fifty per cent, greater, which shows that I havii 
not taught myself to hear, or improved my sense of 
hearing by use, but that I have taught myself, through 
the sense of hearing, the better to understand. 

Hearing Their Own Voice. — It is of the greatest 
importance that the deaf should hear their own voice, 
which they may do either by closing their teeth firmly 
and speaking, or by speaking against an audiphone prop- 
erly adjusted against their teeth. They should then be 
encouraged to make sounds for themselves, to hear and 
to speak words as soon as possible, and to continue to 
do this. Children of perfect hearing are prattling most 
of the day while at play. We should try to have the 
deaf use their voices as much as hearing children, to ena- 
ble them to learn to control it. To accomplish this they 
should be required to study aloud most of the day, either 
by speaking with their teeth closed, or with an audiphone 
adjusted to the teeth. The teacher will then have but little 
more labor than the teacher of hearing children, as she 
will be required only to correct their pronunciation. As 
soon as they have learned to read, they may read aloud 
with Cheir teeth closed, or with the audiphone adjusted to 
their teeth, so as to reco-nvey to them the sound of their 
own voice. By requiring them to do this much of their 
time, they will soon acquire correct pronunciation with 
but littlo labor on the part of the teacher. 

Those who have been taught to speak by the 
oral method may at once commence reading aloud in 
this way, and will very soon strengthen and improve their 
voices. Thi.5 may be done in cases where they have but one 
per cent, of hearing only. Practice is the one thing essen^ 


T«e TBSTH. f 

tial to success; the more they practice'; in this way, the 
sooner will they acquire a well-modulated voice. 

Reading Aloud to Each Other. — As soon as prac- 
ticable, they may read aloud to each other, the listeners, 
with the audiphone adjusted to their teeth, looking on a 
duplicate book; and they will be surprised to note how 
readily they will hear the words spoken when they see 
them in a duplicate book. It is well for the teacher or 
one having correct pronunciation to read to a class in 
this way. 

Use the Eyes as Well as Ears. — Persons with 
perfect hearing do not look away from the speaker; 
neither should one of defective hearing. Do not try to 
have them distinguish sounds too soon by the ear alone, 
as would be the case if they looked away from the 
speaker, except from a duplicate book as above. It is time 
enough to do this when one is able to understand readily 
everything said by the use of both the eye and ear. 

To all those who are classed as hard-of-hear- 
ing, yet who understand language when heard, 
the audiphone is an inestimable boon, and by them it is 
in use in every civilized country in the world. They can 
use it to advantage at once, because they understand at 
once what they hear^ while the speechless deaf, though 
they hear, do not understand what the sounds that reach 
them mean. Those who are but slightly deaf will not 
receive as much benefit as those who are more deaf, but all 
who find trouble in understanding ordinary conversation, 
and who have some degree of hearing remaining, and 
who have natural upper teeth, or a very firmly fitting set 
of false upper teeth, may use it with comfort, both to 


THB AVDIPHONE. 


themselves and to those who would converse with them. 
The deaf will be surprised to note how much more peo- 
ple will have to say to them if they provide themselves 
with an audiphone, and render it easy for those who con- 
verse with them. It is a duty they owe quite as much to 
those who are obliged to talk with them as to themselves. 

Instructions for Using the Audiphone. 

To adjust the audiphone for use, draw down the silken. 
:ord until the audiphone is curved slightly, and then 
push up the small ring which is on the handle until it 
tightens on the cord, and fastens it in this curved posi- 
tion. 

Holding it by the handle in this position, place its 
ipper edge against one or more of the upper teeth. An 

eye-tooth ” is generally the best. Do not press it against 
the teeth, but let it rest lightly against them, else you will 
aiake your teeth sore, and you will hear better to hold it 
>srery loosely in your hand, and let it rest very gentl]/ 
against the teeth. 

Some persons hear better with the audiphone but 
slightly curved, while others require it curved to a greater 
degree. Experiment with it in this matter for the best 
curved position until you get that curved position of the 
audiphone which gives you the greatest sound. In this 
respect the audiphone is adjusted to suit sound some- 
what as an opera-glass is adjusted to suit distance. 

Gentlemen may carry the audiphone conveniently 
by fixing the cord over the collar-button at the back of 
their neck and slipping it under their coat under their 
left arm, leaving the audiphone strained. In this way 
the weight of the coat will keep the instrument concealed, 
and they will find it very convenient to use. 


HEARIN© THROUGH THE TBBT«. 

Ladies may carry the audiphone by throwing the 
cord over their neck, concealing it when wearing an over- 
garment, or they may carry it as they would a fan, fot 
which it may be used when desired. 

Persons who have been very deaf for many 
years, and who are accustomed, wholly or in part, to in- 
terpret sound by the movement of the lips of the party 
upeaking, may not readily distinguish the words of the 
jipeaker when first using the audiphone, though the 
\)Ound of these words will be heard. In all such cases a 
fittle practice will be required. 

Persons having false teeth, if they fit firmly, can, 
notwithstanding, use the audiphone successfully. 

Persons using such instruments as ear trump- 
ets, which in all cases increase the deafness by concen- 
I rating an unnatural force and volume of sound upon the 
impaired organ, should at once lay aside all such devices 
on receiving the audiphone. Such persons, thus 
accustomed to the unnatural sound, through the ear 
Vrumpet, will require some practice to again familiarize 
themselves with the natural sound of the human voice 
vhich the audiphone always conveys. 


hOK THE DCAE. 


THE AUDIPHONE 

Instrument that Enables Deaf Persons to Hear Or- 
dinary Conversation Readily through the Medium of 
the Teeth, and Many of those Born Deaf and Dumb 
to Hear and Learn to Speak. 

INVENTED BY RICHARD S. RHODES, CHICAGO. 

Medal Awarded at the World’s Columbia Expo- 
sition, Chicago. 

The Audiphone is a new instrument made of a peculiar composition, 
posessing the property of gathering the faintest sounds (somewhat similar 
to a telephone diaphragm), and conveying them to the auditory nerve, 
through the medium of the teeth. TAe exte 7 -nal ear has nothing whaU 
rver to do in hearing with this wonderful instrument. 

Thousands are in use by those who would not do without them for 
any consideration. It has enabled doctors and lawyers to resume practice, 
teachers to resume teaching, mothers to hear the voices of their children, 
thousands to hear their ministers, attend concerts and theatres, and 
engage in general conversation. Music is heard perfectly with it when 
without i, not a note could be distinguished. It is convenient to carry 
and to use. Ordinary conversation can be heard with ease. In most 
cases deafness is not detected 

Full instructions will be sent with each instrument. inhone 

Is patented throughout the civilized world. 

PRICE: 

Conversational, small size - - - . . <$3.00 

Conversational, medium size, ..... 1. - 3.00 

Concert size, - -- -- -- -- - 5.00 

Trial instrument, good and serviceable, - - - - - 1,50 

The Audiphone will be sent to any address, on receipt of price, by 

Rhodes & McClure Publishing Co., 

Wabash Avenue, Chicago. lit. 


FI£7^10H£D m 

filHODES & McCLURE PUBLISHING CO., 

Chicago. 


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piled and arranged by one who is best 
able to tell what is good for the instruc- 
tion and amusement of the children.” — 
A Mother. Many of the rhymes are 
original, but a large number are old 
favorites that will interest the old folk 
as reminiscences of their childhood 
days. The illustrations are numerous 
and designed to amu e and interest the 
little ones at home. 

They are idols of home and of households; 
They are Angels of God in disguise. 

His sunlight still sleeps in ineir tresses; 

His glory still gleams in fhcir eyes. 


G ems of poetry. 407 pages. Finely illustrated. Contains a very 
choice and varied selection of our most popular, beautiful and time- 
honored poems, written by the poets of all ages and' climes. A 
magnificent gift book for a friend; a splend'd book for the holidays; ap- 
propriate for a birthday or wedding present; a fine center-table book, im 
teresting to all. 


WEBSTER'S 

Unabridged Dictionary 

l*EI»RINT COITION. 

CLOTH. - - • n 
HfiLFMOeOGCa • m 
SHEEP. • • • - m 


Every School 
Child Should Have 
One of 'These 
r.npi«»g. 


OVER 1300 PAOB 81 

Beautiful Frontie* 
piece of the Flags ol 
All Nations In Fiwi 
Colors, Illustrated. 

THB BEST ON THE HARKET TO-DAY 
FOR THB nONEV. 


MOOKaas atjL oaomna to 

Rhodes & McClttre PablishiiUE €»•« 



7 1903 


Standard Publications, $1.00 each, Cloth.bound. 


$2.85 GOLD PLATED. $2.85 



Cut this out and send it to 
us, and we will send you this 
Watch by express C. O. D. 
SUBJECT TO EXAMINA- 
TION. You can examine it 
at your express office and if 
found satisfactory, and as 
represented, pay the express 
agent OUR PRICE, $2.85, 
and express charges. 

OUR $2.85 WATCH IS 
LADIES’ OR GENTS full 
size (mention if ladies’ or 
gents’ size is wanted) open 
face, stem wind and set, gold 
plated, polished. Looks like 
a high-grade gold-filled, and 
is a great trading watch; 
movement is stem wind Amer- 
ican. Guarantee sent. (As- 
sorted engravings). IT IS A 
GOOD TIME-KEEPER. If 


M 21^ $2.85 is sent with order we 

send chain and charm FREE, also Catalogue. Address 
Please mention this book. W. G. MORRIS, 

1356 Washington Boul, Chicago. 
W, G. Morris is thoroughly reliable. — Puhlishcr. 


WANTED. — Agents for sale of our publications. 
See a description in this book, and send for Catalogue 
containing full description of all of our books. This is 
one of them. 

RHODES & McCLURE PUB. CO. 

296 Wabash Avenue, Chicago, 111. 









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